Expedite infrastructure projects: CM to Gadkari

New Delhi/Hyderabad: In a move to improve connectivity between two Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has requested Union Minister for Road Transport and National Highways Nitin Gadkari to announce the Hyderabad – Vijayawada National Highway (NH-65) as six-lanes and start work immediately.

During the meeting with the Union minister, Revanth said the Hyderabad-Vijayawada six-lane project was supposed to be completed by April 2024. The CM expressed serious concern over increasing road accidents and loss of lives due to fast growing vehicular traffic on the busy national highway. More than 60,000 vehicles are plying on the highway between the capitals of the two states every day, he said.

The CM brought to the notice of the Union minister, despite heavy traffic on the highway, the contract agency has not taken up the six-lane project on the pretext of the vehicular traffic reduced after the bifurcation and the agency was not getting proper income. The Chief Minister asked Nitin Gadkari to resolve the dispute between the NHAI and the contract company and take up the six-lane road development project on a war-footing basis.

The demand to announce the southern part of the Regional Ring Road (RRR) as National Highway was also discussed in the meeting. The Union minister has been requested to declare the southern part of RRR as a national highway and grant funds in the NHAI Annual Plan this year. The CM brought to the notice of Gadkari that the tenders for the sanctioned national highway from Hyderabad (ORR Gourelli Junction) to Valigonda-Thorrur-Nellikuduru-Mahabubabad-Kothagudem have been called for only one package on 69-km stretch and the works started.

The Chief Minister recalled Nitin Gadkari’s statement in the Warangal public meeting that this road will be called Jai Sriram road, which will reduce the distance by 40 km between Hyderabad and Bhadrachalam. The CM requested the Union minister to see that the work on the project started immediately as tenders have been called for the remaining three packages (165 km) of this national highway.

The CM asked him to declare Kalwakurthy to Kolhapur-Somasila-Karivena-Nandyal (NH-167K) road as the national highway and call for tenders to take up works on 142-km stretch road. Revanth said that tenders were called for the works of remaining 32 km and the construction of the Iconic Bridge and requested that works be taken up immediately. The distance between Hyderabad and Tirupati will be reduced by 70 km once the proposed national highway was completed.

The need for a national highway to Manthani which was represented by state IT Minister D Sridhar Babu was also proposed in the meeting. The CM said that land acquisition has been completed after announcing Hyderabad-Manneguda four-lane national highway (NH-163) connecting Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

Tenders were called for, but the works did not start due to a case pending before the NGT, Revanth Reddy said, adding that the NHAI had agreed to translocate the Banyan trees along the route as per the norms prescribed by the Union Ministry of Environment.