India News | Telangana CM Seeks Forest Clearance for 161 Projects in Meetings with Union Ministers

New Delhi, Jan 16 (PTI) Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met multiple Union ministers in the national capital Thursday, sought clearances for pending development projects and discussed the state's plan to convert its public transport fleet to electric vehicles.

In his meeting with Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, Reddy sought environmental and forest clearances for 161 stalled projects, including 38 projects pending approval under the Wildlife Protection Acts.

Also Read | 8th Pay Commission Approved by PM Narendra Modi: Here's Timeline and Key Facts.

The chief minister emphasised that many of these projects are located in remote areas affected by left-wing extremism. He highlighted delays in infrastructure development, particularly the construction of towers along national highways, agency areas, and PMGSY roads connecting neighbouring states.

Reddy specifically requested expedited permissions for the Gouravelli project, to which Yadav responded positively, according to an official statement.

Also Read | Chhattisgarh Encounter: 12 Naxals Killed in Gun Fight With Security Forces in South Bastar.

In a separate meeting with Union Heavy Industries Minister H D Kumaraswamy, the chief minister pushed for a 100 per cent conversion of Hyderabad's bus fleet to electric models. He also discussed proposals submitted under the PM E-Drive scheme and suggested retrofitting existing diesel buses with electric kits.

The chief minister sought the allocation of 2,800 buses to Hyderabad under the retrofitment model along with the Gross Cost Contract (GCC) method.

He also paid a courtesy visit to Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Steel Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma.

Telangana ministers Konda Surekha, Ponnam Prabhakar, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, N Uttam Kumar Reddy, and senior officials, including Principal Secretary Shanthikumari and CM's Principal Secretary V Seshadri were present during these meetings.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)