G. Kishan Reddy says no land requests sent for three Hyderabad high-speed lines

India's coal and mines minister G. Kishan Reddy said the Railways had not sent states land acquisition requests for three proposed high-speed lines from Hyderabad. He said acquisition in the projects' names without an official requisition was illegal.

Reddy described the situation in a social-media post after meeting Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in New Delhi. He said Vaishnaw had confirmed that no land acquisition requisitions had been sent to the relevant state governments.

The proposals concern Hyderabad–Chennai, Hyderabad–Bengaluru and Hyderabad–Pune corridors. Alignment studies are continuing for all three, and final routes have not yet been determined.

According to Reddy, details will be shared with state authorities and farmers once the alignments are finalised. Until an official Railways requisition is issued, he maintained, land cannot be acquired for these projects.

The statement came amid concern about possible acquisition for the high-speed lines. The minister distinguished the route-study stage from subsequent land acquisition procedures.

The three corridors are proposed to improve high-speed links between Hyderabad and the other cities. Continuing studies do not mean that alignments have already been approved or acquisition has begun.