VIJAYAWADA: The Centre has recently approved a Greenfield expressway between Bengaluru and Vijayawada and that the detailed project report (DPR) for the same is being prepared, revealed BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao. Noting that the Centre has spent over `25,500 crore in AP on highways development alone, he claimed that every penny spent on road development in the State was from the Centre’s pocket.
In an interaction with the media on Wednesday, the BJP MP also revealed that the Anantapur-Amaravati expressway has been cancelled after the YSRC government “backed out” from bearing the cost of land acquisition. “The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has even agreed to bear 50 per cent of the cost, but the YSRC government backed out. The Centre has approved the Bengaluru-Vijayawada expressway a week ago. It will involve highway development of 370 kms. The DPR is being prepared,” he said.
Talking about the road development done in AP since the BJP came to power at the Centre in 2014, GVL said that the highway network increased from 4,200 kms in 2014-15 to 7,663 kms. The Centre spent `25,500 crore on the 3,463 km road laid in the last seven years, he said.
“Another `1,155 crore was given for maintenance. In a way, every penny spent in AP on roads is completely from the Centre’s pocket. The current State government has not spent even a rupee, but wants to take credit for what we have done. Even if the State wants to spend, no contractor is coming forward as everybody is aware that the state is on the brink of bankruptcy,” he alleged.
Another ` 2,100 crore has been given for district and rural roads, he added. “Besides this, there are 15 national highways projects with a cumulative of 355 kms that are ongoing in the state with a cost of `11,021 crore. For the fiscal year 2022, 522 kms of roads are being awarded and for FY23 another 752 kms are being planned. In addition to them, under the port connectivity enhancement programme, 13 projects of 264 km length are approved with a cost of `6,332 crore,” he said.