Funds for Metro, RRR, Musi projects, expectations from Union Budget run high in State

Ahead of the Union Budget 2026-27, expectations remain high in the Centre’s Telangana, given the long ‘wish list’ that the Revanth Reddy government has been highlighting for several months, both in terms of financial assistance and required support perspective.

Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase-II expansion along with ambitious Musi River rejuvenation and Regional Ring Road top the list of major projects the State government is looking at at the Centre; but considering the Budget in recent years, the possibility of pleasant surprises for Telangana seems remote.

It is widely expected that the FY27 Budget will be for the Union Territory of Puducherry as well as the poll-bound states of West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Global geopolitical dynamics and countermeasures to sustain growth are also likely to influence the Budget.

Infrastructure financing, urban development grants and fulfillment of promises made under the AP Reorganization Act 2014 are the headings under which the State government’s wish list can be broadly classified. With the Telangana Emerging Global Summit in December, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had outlined the broad outlines of the ambitious Bharat Future City near Hyderabad, the multi-regional, diversified approach his government is keen to promote for inclusive growth.

Be it the Regional Ring Road with a funding requirement of around ₹35,000 crore, or the proposal to build radial roads that will serve as key links between the existing Outer Ring Road and the RRR, as well as the 70-km-plus second phase of the Hyderabad Metro Rail, every component on the wish list is important in accelerating Telangana’s development beyond Hyderabad. A dry port for the landlocked state and a highway connecting from there to a port in Andhra Pradesh, development of new airports, approvals of new railway lines are other infrastructure projects for which Telangana is seeking support from the Centre.

The Prime Minister and his cabinet colleagues have repeatedly sought to set up an Indian Institute of Management (IIM) in Hyderabad, more Navodaya Vidyalayas and Kendriya Vidyalayas, get approval for lakhs of rural homes and increase allocations under Central schemes, besides greater fiscal freedom and measures to correct the imbalance due to a reduction in the share of the divisible pool of taxes. Development projects in Warangal, support for clusters like Kakatiya Mega Textile Park and seeking a larger role in the India Semiconductor Mission are aspects they highlight. Under the AP Reorganization Act, the State is constantly looking for two projects: a steel factory in Bayyaram and a railway wagon factory in Kazipet.

From a political perspective, for the BJP-led NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the FY27 Budget will present an opportunity to capture the imagination of people in the main opposition Congress-ruled state with Telangana-specific announcements, even though the Assembly elections are some time away.