HYDERABAD: Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that the Centre is committed to the development of Telangana.
Addressing a meeting after inaugurating the Amberpet flyover here on Monday, he said that national highway projects worth Rs 1.25 lakh crore are either ongoing or completed and projects worth over Rs 2 lakh crore will be initiated in the state over the next two years. In 2014, there were 2,511 km of national highways in Telangana and over the past 10 years, this has increased to around 5,000 km.
The Union minister said, “Hyderabad is an industrial city and connectivity to it is of utmost importance. It is also a knowledge city and the conversion of knowledge into wealth is the future of our country.”
“Hyderabad city is becoming congested. I saw in Spain that 3,000 to 4,000 cars were parked underground by constructing tunnels. I request the state government to adopt such technology,” Gadkari said.
He stated that, in order to improve connectivity between Hyderabad and other cities within the state, the central government has decided to construct access-controlled highways. “With this, it will be possible to reach Hyderabad from any city in the state within a maximum of five hours.” He announced that tenders for the four-laning of the Hyderabad to Dindi stretch will be invited soon.
He further said that construction of the northern part of the Regional Ring Road will commence soon after the Cabinet approval. “Studies are underway regarding the southern part and the central government will take a positive decision after they are completed,” he added.
He announced that construction of the Multi-Modal Logistics Park being developed at Manoharabad, near Hyderabad, will begin shortly.
“We are constructing the Hyderabad–Indore corridor at a cost of `17,000 crore. Work is almost complete in Telangana. A 136-km stretch passes through Kamareddy, Medak and Sangareddy districts. This project will cut travel time between Indore and Hyderabad from 20 hours to 10,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Union minister said: “It used to take 3.5 hours to travel from Manali to Rohtang Pass. After constructing the Atal Tunnel, the travel time has reduced to just 8 minutes. From Rohtang to Ladakh and Leh, we are constructing eight tunnels in the Himalayas. From Srinagar to Jammu, we are building 36 tunnels of which 23 have been completed.”
Union Coal & Mines Minister G Kishan Reddy and Telangana Roads & Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy were present on the occasion.
REVANTH ASKS GADKARI TO EXPEDITE APPROVAL FOR NORTHERN PART OF REGIONAL RING ROAD
HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has requested Union Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari to accord administrative and financial approval for northern part of the Regional Ring Road. He met the Union minister at Begumpet airport on Monday and discussed various projects. Revanth Reddy informed Gadkari that tenders were already invited for the construction of northern part of RRR and sought the Centre’s cooperation to ensure simultaneous completion of northern and southern parts of the RRR.
He also wanted Gadkari to sanction at the earliest for an elevator corridor from Mannanur to Srisailam on NH 765 and Hyderabad to Amaravati greenfield expressway. He stressed the need to construct radial roads to connect ORR and RRR. The CM also requested Gadkari to release funds for Hyderabad-Dindi-Mannanur and Hyderabad-Mancherial greenfield highways and ORR to Manneguda radial road.
PONNAM WRITES TO CENTRE ON CONVERSION OF RAJIV RAHADARI INTO 8-LANE ROAD
KARIMNAGAR: Transport and BC Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar wrote to Nitin Gadkari, seeking the expansion of Rajiv Rahadari into an eight-lane road from Hyderabad to Karimnagar and Ramagundam. He said that the road connecting key cities is insufficient to handle the increasing traffic. Responding to the letter, Union minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar, who accompanied Gadkari in Kumurambheem district, stated that Rajiv Rahadari is in a poor condition due to substandard construction quality.
He announced that the central government is prepared to expand the Rajiv Rahadari into a national highway, citing a promise from Nitin Gadkari. However, the minister pointed out that certain issues related to the road need to be addressed and the responsibility for resolving these problems by engaging with the contractor lies with the state government. He urged minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy to take initiative in this matter.
