HYDERABAD: MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao met Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi on Friday to discuss the transfer of defence lands for various road development projects in and around Hyderabad.
The primary objective of these projects is to alleviate traffic congestion on the city’s major roads. KTR also urged Rajnath Singh to accelerate the excision of civil areas of the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) and their integration with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.
The road projects requiring defence lands include the construction of a skywalk at Mehdipatnam, the development of an elevated corridor on Rajiv Rahadari, the construction of an elevated corridor from Paradise Junction to the Outer Ring Road (ORR) Junction near Kandlakoya on NH-44, and the link roads under the Hyderabad Road Development Corporation Limited (HRDCL) project.
KTR emphasised the importance of the Skywalk at Rythu Bazar, Mehdipatnam, which falls under the purview of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA). This project is a crucial component of the city’s road network and aims to enhance pedestrian movement. However, an area of approximately 0.20 hectares (or 0.51 acres) of defence land is required to proceed with the construction.
Furthermore, KTR discussed the State government’s proposal for the development of an elevated corridor from Paradise Junction to the ORR Junction on Hyderabad-Karimnagar-Ramagundam Road (SH-01). This proposed route encompasses significant areas such as West Marredpally, Karkhana, Trimulgherry, Bolarum, Alwal, Hakimpet, Thumkunta, and terminates at the junction with the ORR in Shamirpet. The corridor spans a length of 18.400 kilometres and includes exit and entry ramps at Trimulgherry Junction (two ramps) and Alwal.
Furthermore, KTR appealed to the Union Minister for the transfer of small portions of defence land to create link roads and facilitate road widening in Hyderabad. The proposed road widening works include locations such as Kanchanbagh, the junction of Road No 1 and 12 at Banjara Hills, and from Zohra Bee Dargah to Rakshapuram.