The controversy over Hyderabad Metro

Rejecting allegations of irregularities, L&T Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited said it was ready for a probe but would not bow down to any "threats" and would complete the project by December next year as scheduled.

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"A few individuals are trying to distract us day in and day out. But we are not going to be cowed down in any way. We are going ahead with a single-minded determination to

complete the prestigious project as per schedule," L&T Metro Rail Chief Executive and Managing Director V B Gadgil and Hyderabad Metro Rail Managing Director N V S Reddy said.

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Reacting to recent allegations made by TRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao that Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy received kickbacks from L&T for the project and that valuable public land was being taken away in the name of the project, the L&T and HMR top executives stressed there was no truth whatsoever in the allegations.

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"L&T is known for its ethics. No money was exchanged nor were we given an extra cent of land," Gadgil said.

"Everything related to the project is available for public scrutiny. We are prepared for any inquiry. We have not done anything wrong," Reddy maintained.

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Reddy, who represents the state government on the L&T HMR Board, said many allegations were made on the project in the last five years.

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"We have proved all those allegations wrong. We have already explained the facts to some opposition leaders and we will explain to others as well," he added.

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The MD said L&T so far spent Rs 3,100 crore (Rs 31 billion) on the Rs 16,375 crore (Rs 163.75 billion) project while the Andhra Pradesh government spent Rs 900 crore (Rs 9 billion).

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A viability gap fund of Rs 1,458 crore (Rs 14.58 billion) was available from the Centre which might be drawn next year.

The project was progressing at a brisk pace and the 8-km Phase-1 between Nagole and Mettuguda would be complete by end of 2014.

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"The commercial operations will begin on March 21, 2015 as a Ugadi (Telugu New Year's Day) gift as per schedule," Reddy said.

HMR has already bagged the Best Engineering Project Award 2013 in New York and Rospa Award (for safety parameters) in Glasgow, UK.

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"The project is receiving worldwide appreciation," he pointed out. Asked if the proposed state division would affect HMR, Gadgil and Reddy noted: "This project is for the city of Hyderabad. It will flourish."