Old City Metro: papers move, pillars wait
Hyderabad’s Old City corridor is sanctioned on paper and stuck in court-ordered specifics. The Congress government in Telangana promised zero harm to 103 sensitive sites; now it has to show exactly how — with drawings, distances and permissions, not slogans.
The Old City corridor awaits drawings, distances and clearances.
According to the state’s own record, the Old City Metro exists — at least as an administratively sanctioned line. G.O. Ms. No. 196 (2 November 2024) clears Corridor VI, a 7.5‑km MGBS–Chandrayangutta stretch, as part of Phase‑II Part‑A, pitched as a 50:50 joint venture with the Union government at an estimated Rs 24,269 crore. The order is a sanction, not a construction log.
The Congress government’s January 2024 review recognised the obvious: “none of the identified 103 religious, heritage and other sensitive structures in Old city shall be adversely impacted,” and asked for traffic studies and DPRs on a revised alignment from Darulshifa to Falaknuma. Proposal and feasibility were the words then; final alignment, heritage clearances and a work schedule are not in the documents reviewed.
Litigation has narrowed the room for hand‑waving. In late 2025, on a PIL by Act Public Welfare Foundation, the Telangana High Court asked Hyderabad Airport Metro Limited for a “detailed sketch” showing the route, nearby structures, proximity and setback norms. In court, petitioners argued the alignment endangered heritage; HAML replied “the metro rail would pass above these structures without impacting any of them.” The government told the bench in December 2025 that “not one heritage structure has been touched till now,” and put Charminar at roughly 700 metres to 1 km from the corridor — outside the 500‑metre restriction — while conceding a window and a compound wall would be affected and promising to obtain permissions first. The bench, unimpressed with oral assurances, asked for an audiovisual presentation and posted the matter to January 8, 2026.
What the record supports today is narrow and testable: the corridor is sanctioned; it traverses a heritage‑sensitive zone the government itself counted; and the court has demanded precise drawings and distances before it will buy either side’s story. Claims that structures will be damaged, that work began without assessments or that the project is under a stay are not established in the material reviewed. The BJP‑led Centre’s 50:50 is on the sanction note; the cheque and the clearances will have to show up on file.
A metro through the Old City can be built without touching Charminar, or it can be argued about indefinitely. The Congress government in Telangana needs to pick one — and file the maps to prove it.