Hyderabad: Telangana Roads and Buildings (R&B) Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy met with Union Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi on Monday, June 24, to discuss the state’s road infrastructure and funding needs.
During the meeting, Venkat Reddy made several significant requests to the Union minister. He urged Gadkari to convert 16 state highways in Telangana into national highways and assign them national highway (NH) numbers.
Regarding the Hyderabad-Vijayawada six-lane highway, the minister informed the media that the project’s progress has been delayed due to the election code. He highlighted that the GMR company, responsible for the toll road project, failed to complete the work by the 2024 deadline, resulting in frequent accidents and fatalities. Consequently, he appealed to the Union minister to expedite the project’s completion.
Reddy also requested the acceleration of the Uppal-Ghatkesar flyover construction, which has been ongoing for four years. In response, Gadkari promptly directed the authorities to terminate the existing contract and issue new tenders to expedite the work.
Additionally, Reddy mentioned special efforts to construct the Regional Ring Road (RRR) in Telangana. The RRR project was temporarily halted when the previous government refused to pay utility charges. However, with the Congress party in power, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and the Speaker assured the central government that they would cover the utility charges, allowing the RRR project to resume.
During his visit to Delhi, Reddy also paid a courtesy call to Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar. He is scheduled to meet Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy on Tuesday and plans to meet Union Environment and Forest Minister Bhupendra Singh on Tuesday, June 25, to seek forest clearances for road construction projects in the state.
