Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], September 22 : Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy held a review of the development of the National Highway network in the state today and ordered the officials to expedite land acquisition and the payment of compensation for the construction of national highways, a release from Telangana CMO said.
Stressing that the land acquisition should be taken up from a humane perspective, the Chief Minister instructed the district Collectors to explain the benefits of road development to the farmers during land acquisition and resolve arbitration cases quickly, the release said.
The CM held a high-level review of the construction of national highways, permissions and approval of new proposals with the officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), National Highways Department (NH), Ministry of National Highways and Road Transport (MoRT), Roads and Buildings Department, and Forest Department at the Secretariat today.
The Chief Minister inquired about the sanction of national highways, approval of the proposals and the delay in the process.
As per the release, the CM ordered the officials to stop delaying the works due to minor reasons, and the respective departments should resolve the challenges immediately. The officials were instructed to expedite the land acquisition and works, ensuring compensation is provided immediately.
CM Revanth Reddy questioned the NHAI officials for raising new issues while resolving every issue in the construction of the Regional Ring Road (RRR) North. The CM advised the officials to send all the doubts and queries at once. NHAI officials briefed the CM that the authorities had discussed the issues and would bring to the government's notice any doubts that may arise.
The CM appealed to the NHAI officials to immediately grant permissions for RRR North and South and to cooperate in starting the work of both simultaneously. The NHAI officials expressed their willingness to accept the CM's request for immediate approval of the RRR South alignment.
According to the release, CM Revanth Reddy also advised the NHAI officials to immediately grant permissions for the Bharat Future City-Amaravati-Machilipatnam 12-lane greenfield highway. The government envisaged plans to develop a Dry Port, Logistics Park and Industrial Park in Bharat Future City.
The CM said that the Greenfield highway will connect the two capital cities of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, which will provide convenience to the transport of goods and passengers. The Greenfield highway will also reduce the distance between Hyderabad and Vijaywada by 70 km and generate more revenues than any other national highway in the country.
Reminding that the construction of the greenfield highway between the two states was assured in the AP Reorganisation Act, the Chief Minister said that required permissions should be given under PM Gatishakti or any other scheme, along with the finalisation of the alignment.
As per the release, the state government also requested the sanction of a railway line between Bengaluru - Shamshabad Airport - Amaravati, parallel to the greenfield highway, which is suitable for running trains, including Vande Bharat, to earn profits, the CM said.
Reviewing the status of pending highways, CM Revanth Reddy sought immediate approval for the elevated corridor between Raviryal and Mannanur on the Hyderabad-Srisailam route. Since a large number of devotees from Hyderabad visit the Srisailam temple, the Srisailam reservoir and the Tiger Forest regularly, the CM instructed the NHAI officials to immediately grant necessary approvals for the elevated corridor and take steps to start the work immediately.
State Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao was ordered to take immediate action to resolve the case pending in the NGT regarding the removal of Banyan trees on the Hyderabad-Manneguda road. The NHAI was also requested to approve the new Hyderabad-Manchiryal-Nagpur road. The proposed route will help establish new industrial parks and connect national highways.
In a video conference with the district Collectors, the Chief Minister enquired about the delay in land acquisition and compensation for the Manchiryal-Warangal-Khammam-Vijayawada National Highway (NH-163G), Armur-Jagityal-Manchiryal (NH-63), Jagityal-Karimnagar (NH-563), and Mahabubnagar-Marikal-Deosugur (NH-167) roads. The collectors brought to the notice of CM Revanth Reddy that court cases were pending in many places.
The Chief Minister instructed the Chief Secretary to prepare a report on all pending cases in the districts, discuss them with the Advocate General within a week, and take steps to resolve them. When the CM enquired about he delay in the payment of compensation, the collectors brought to the CM's attention that there was a delay in the release of funds from the Competent Authority for Land Acquisition.
Responding to this, NHAI officials stated that they will release funds after the lists are uploaded, and the collectors should complete this work promptly, the release said.
The CM warned the collectors that the government will not tolerate any delay in this matter and ordered them to complete the arbitration cases in land acquisition immediately and upload the lists on time. The CM also instructed the collectors to complete the land acquisition and payment of compensation by the end of October. The collectors, RDOs, and Tahsildars who show negligence in land acquisition and compensation payment will be removed from service, the CM warned.
CM Revanth Reddy also reviewed the complaints lodged by the Forest and Environment Department in the construction of national highways. Forest South Region IG Trinath Kumar said that forest and environment regulations were violated in many areas from 2002 to 2022 and the permissions are not being given at present.
Expressing his displeasure, the chief minister said that officers who worked in the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh are no longer in service and ordered the chief secretary to submit details regarding the violations.
The CM also said that alternative land will be given for forest development wherever necessary. If necessary, the CM said he will personally meet Union Minister of National Highways Nitin Gadkari and Union Minister of Forest and Environment Bhupender Yadav in this regard, as per the release.
The CM said that the Wildlife Act is being implemented even in forest areas where there is no wildlife. The officials brought to the notice of the CM that the permissions are being delayed due to the lack of any provision in the NHAI for the wildlife mitigation plan in non-wildlife areas. CM Revanth Reddy said that the government is ready to bear the cost in this regard and advised PCCF Dr. Suvarna to take the initiative and complete the forest clearance process quickly.
Responding to the NHAI officials' request to allocate two acres of land in Hyderabad for the construction of their office, CM Revanth Reddy instructed the officials to find suitable land and start the process. NHAI officials thanked Chief Minister Revanth Reddy for responding promptly to their request.
State R&B Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, Chief Minister's Advisor Vem Narender Reddy, State Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao, Chief Minister's Principal Secretaries V. Seshadri, K.S. Srinivasa Raju, Chief Minister's OSD Vemula Srinivasulu, R&B Special Chief Secretary Vikas Raj, State Finance Principal Secretary Sandeep Kumar Sultania, Central Government Special Secretary Vinay Kumar Rajawat, NHAI Member (Projects) Anil Chaudhary, MORT Regional Officer Krishna Prasad, NHAI Regional Officer Shivshankar, Principal Secretary of the Energy Department Naveen Mittal, Principal Secretary of the Environment Department Ahmed Nadeem and others participated.