CHENNAI: State Highways Minister EV Velu says the Chief Minister’s Road Development Programme (CMRDP) will be a game changer in improving road infrastructure in Tamil Nadu. Excerpts from his interaction with TNIE.
What do you see as the major initiative of the highways department during the first year of the new government?
Under the CMRDP, 2,200 km of State highways connecting district headquarters and taluk headquarters will be converted into four-lane roads and 6,700 km of single/intermediate lanes will become two-lane roads. In 2021-22, we earmarked Rs 2,000 crore to convert 250 km of two-lane roads into four-lane roads and Rs 1,200 crore for converting 600 km of single roads into two-lane ones. This scheme will improve public mobility to a great extent.
What were your main challenges in the first year?
Repairing causeways damaged by floods last year in Kanniyakumari, Ooty, and Vellore districts was extremely difficult. The causeways were breached or washed away at several places, and we had to restore transportation at several places within 48 hours.
Apart from CMRDP, what are the other steps taken by the government to improve road infrastructure?
To decongest town areas, we have proposed to build bypasses for 59 municipalities. Last year we completed land acquisition and design work for 15 bypasses.
How do you manage the issue of land acquisition?
Land acquisition is a major challenge, but we have expedited work for several projects pending for a long time.