SCR RTI: Vajpayee Nagar RUB yet to progress five months after launch
HYDERABAD: South Central Railway (SCR) RTI response confirms that only drain work has begun, five months after the RUB at Vajpayee Nagar was inaugurated. Residents are still waiting.
In a social media post, Robin Zaccheus, RTI activist, said, Posters appeared across Neredmet X Road. Malkajgiri MLA Marri Rajasekhar Reddy and MP Etela Rajender held a ceremony for the Road Under Bridge (RUB) at Vajpayee Nagar. Residents had demanded this project for 14 years. This event happened in January 2026. Five months later, he filed a Right to Information (RTI) application to check the project’s status. South Central Railway (SCR) replied that there is no financial progress.
Robin Zaccheus, an RTI activist, said, “After 14 years, the project was finally awarded on January 23, 2026. But after 5 months, not a single brick has been laid. How much longer must the people of Malkajgiri wait?” Meanwhile, the RTI reply confirms that the RUB at Vajpayee Nagar Level Crossing No. 08 is the only such project in the Secunderabad Division. SCR’s responses show the project exists only on paper and in speeches, not on the ground.
The Vajpayee Nagar RUB Project was finally awarded on 23.01.2026 after a 14-year-long battle with the Telangana Government. There were flexi posters all across the Neredmet X road of MLA @MarriRajasekar & MP @Eatala_Rajender for inauguration of the project.
Yet, even after 5… pic.twitter.com/iFILVrqsoy
— Robin Zaccheus (@RobinZaccheus) June 3, 2026
In addition, SCR says the Road Under Bridge (RUB) at Vajpayee Nagar is estimated at Rs 74.47 crore. Only site establishment and drain work have started. The delay is due to land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R), and utility shifting, all pending with the State Government. SCR says no funds have lapsed and the contract was awarded on January 23, 2026. The railway aims to eliminate the high-traffic level crossing (LC) gate BP8, which recorded a Train Vehicle Unit (TVU) of 9,49,174 in September 2024, by building this RUB. SCR says State Government delays in land acquisition are causing safety and human rights concerns.
Looking back, residents first requested a Road Over Bridge (ROB) or Road Under Bridge (RUB) at Vajpayee Nagar Level Crossing (LC) BP8 in 2012. This crossing has over 9 lakh train and vehicle crossings each year and is one of the most dangerous in the Secunderabad Division. Between 2020 and 2025, the project was delayed many times due to cost-sharing disputes, land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) issues, utility shifting, and slow General Administration Department (GAD) approvals.
Following these delays, activists like Robin Zaccheus filed RTI applications, led protests, and made representations. The contract was finally awarded on January 23, 2026, and local leaders held an inauguration ceremony. As of April 30, 2026, only site establishment and drain work had started. On June 3, 2026, SCR replied to an RTI stating that land acquisition delays by the State Government are holding up the work.
Given these facts, it is urgent to complete this project. Level Crossing (LC) gate BP8 at Vajpayee Nagar had a Train Vehicle Unit (TVU) count of 9,49,174 in September 2024. This is one of the highest-risk unmanned crossings in the Secunderabad Division. Indian Railways uses TVU to prioritise level crossing elimination. Any crossing with over 1,00,000 TVU is a high priority, BP8’s figure is almost ten times that.
Despite all plans, SCR’s RTI response says the plan is to remove the LC gate by building the RUB. But five months after awarding the project, there is still no financial progress. As a consequence, Robin Zaccheus says that each day the RUB is not built, road users at the Vajpayee Nagar Level Crossing are at risk. He further added the difference between January’s celebration and the reality five months later shows a bigger problem in Malkajgiri. Politicians put up hoardings, posed for photos, and said the project had started. But SCR’s RTI reply says work has not really begun.
SCR says the delay is because land acquisition and utility shifting are still pending with the State Government. These same issues have stalled the project for over a decade. Now it is up to the Telangana Government to act.
Zaccheus has appealed to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and the Chief Minister’s Office to direct officials to expedite land handover and utility shifting so construction can begin. He also tagged GHMC, Malkajgiri Municipal Corporation, and the Medchal District Collector, since multiple agencies must coordinate to resolve these issues.
