New Delhi, Dec 22: In a major boost to transportation and connectivity, foundation of 14 NH projects in Telangana worth over Rs 13,000 cr was laid by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari through virtual mode.
These projects include 765.663 kms long roads worth Rs 13,169 cr are expected to ensure that almost all of the 33 districts in the State have now connectivity with National Highways.
Speaking on the occasion, Gadkari informed that a total of 59 road works with approved length of 1918 kms and a cost of Rs 17,617 crore have been sanctioned in Telangana in the last 6 years. Of this, 1,782 km length has already been sanctioned with a cost of 15,689 crore.
He said, the remaining district Peddapalli will also be connected to the network soon and added there has been a phenomenal growth of 55.71 per cent NH length in the last 6 years in the State with nearly 1400 km NH length has been added during this period.
Under the CRIF scheme, a sum of Rs 2,436 cr has been sanctioned till now for the State, of which Rs 1483 crore have already been released.
Gadkari informed that while construction of 841 km roads worth Rs 4793 cr has been completed since 2014-15 in Telangana, work is going on for construction of another 809 kms at a cost of Rs 13,012 cr.
He added that during the current financial year, 13 major projects costing Rs 8,957 Cr of length 328 km are proposed to be awarded in the State. Three major projects for 192 kms worth Rs 2339 cr are under bidding, he said. Another 21 NH works with a total length of 1422 km and total cost of Rs 27,116 crore are under various stages of DPR preparation. These works are likely to be completed by the fiscal 2024-25.
The Minister said that in line with the Prime Minister’s vision for a New India, development of world-class transport infrastructure has been prioritized, through initiatives such as the Bharatmala Pariyojana, India’s largest ever infrastructure development programme.
The Pariyojana was conceptualized through a scientific study of freight traffic movement between key origin-destination pairs to enable efficient freight and passenger movement. Projects with length 1,730 kms have been identified for development under Bharatmala Pariyojana in the state of Telangana. Out of these 14 projects, 9 projects with length 423 km have already been awarded at a cost of Rs 7,400 crore.
Development of greenfield and access-controlled corridors has also been planned in Telangana to ease-out traffic on existing corridors, reduce travel time and costs and also provide a boost to the economy.
These projects include Surat – Ahmednagar – Solapur – Kurnool – Chennai (75 km length in Telangana), Suryapet – Khammam – Devarapalli (164 km length in Telangana) and Indore – Hyderabad (136 km length in Telangana).
While development of these corridors will ease the traffic on existing routes, it will also lead to improved savings, due to reduced travel time and fuel consumption thereby also reducing the carbon footprint. Development of multiple wayside amenities are also being planned across the corridors to improve rider comfort.
The corridors have been planned as fully access controlled leading to enhanced rider mobility and safety. Development of these corridors would also generate both white-collar and blue-collar jobs thereby also providing the much-needed boost to the economy.
Gadkari called upon the State to take up diversification of agriculture into economic productivity. He said, the country is already over-producing sugar and rice, and sufficient stock is available with the government. The surplus may be converted to Ethanol, which can be used as an alternative fuel for vehicles. He said, this will not only improve farmers’ income, but will also be an indigenous source of fuels for the country.
The event on Monday was attended by Union Ministers G Kishan Reddy and Gen V K Singh, Telangana Minister for Roads & Buildings, Legislative Affairs and Housing Vemula Prashanth Reddy, Speaker of Teleangana Assembly Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, MPS and MLAs, in addition to senior officers from the Centre and the State.