On Monday, Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for 14 projects in the State costing over Rs 13,169 crore. These projects have a length of 765.66 km National Highway (NH). Although the foundation stones were laid for eight NH projects with a length of 396 km amounting to Rs 9,452 crore, the nation was committed to six NH projects with a length of 370 km worth Rs 3,717 crore.

Union Ministers, G Kishan Reddy and VK Singh, along with Telangana Speaker Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Council Chairman Gutha Sukhender Reddy, and the minister of Roads & Buildings Vemula Prashanth Reddy, MPS and MLAs, as well as senior officers from the Centre and the State, attended the virtual event.

Planned Infrastructure Developments in State

Addressing the event, Gadkari announced that in the last six years, a total of 59 road works with a sanctioned length of 1,918 km and a cost of Rs 17,617 crore were approved in Telangana. Of this, 1,782 km in length with a cost of Rs 15,689 crore has already been sanctioned. He said all the State districts, except Peddapalli, had connections to the National Highway (NH) network and were assured that Peddapalli would soon be connected to the network.`

Telangana sustained a phenomenal growth of 55.71 percent NH length in the last six years, with almost 1,400 km NH length newly added during this period. Although the construction of 841 km of roads worth Rs 4,793 crore has been completed in the State since 2014-15, work is underway to build another 809 km at the cost of Rs 13,012 crore.

The Union Minister stated that thirteen major projects costing Rs 8,957 crore over 328 km are planned to be awarded to the State during the current financial year. Three major projects worth Rs 2,339 crore for 192 km are being tendered. Another 21 NH operates under various DPR stages (detailed project report) planning with a total length of 1,422 km and a total cost of Rs 27,116 crore. By the financial year 2024-25, they are likely to be completed.

In addition, in Telangana State, 14 projects with a length of 1,730 km were listed for development under Bharatmala Pariyojana. Amongst these, nine 423 km-long projects have already been awarded at the cost of Rs 7,400 crore. In Telangana, the construction of greenfield and access-controlled corridors is also expected to ease traffic on existing corridors, reduce the travel time & costs, also boost the economy. It included Surat, Ahmadnagar, Solapur, Kurnool, Chennai (Telangana's 75 km length), Suryapet-Khammam-Devarapalli (Telangana's 164 km length) and Indore-Hyderabad (136 km length in Telangana).

In order to boost rider comfort, the construction of various wayside amenities is also planned across the corridors. The corridors were designed to be completely access controlled, contributing to the rider's enhanced mobility and protection. Creation of these corridors would also create white-collar and blue-collar employment, providing the economy with the much-needed boost.

Gadkari also called on the State to embrace agriculture's diversification into economic productivity. He said the country is already over-producing sugar and rice, and the government has adequate stocks available. It is possible to convert the surplus crop to ethanol, which can be used as an alternative vehicle fuel. Not only will this increase the income of farmers, but it will also be an indigenous source of energy for the country.

By: Shailaja K