Gadkari to Review ORR and NH Progress Soon: Komatireddy

Hyderabad: Road and buildings minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy on Monday said that Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari would conduct a review meeting with Central and state government officials on Regional Ring Road (RRR) in order to come up with an action plan soon.

Venkat Reddy met Gadkari in New Delhi on Monday and discussed several issues, including RRR, a six-lane proposal for Hyderabad and Vijayawada National Highway, among other development works in Telangana.

Later, he said that post-Lok Sabha elections, the Congress government in Telangana has started focusing on developmental works.

"Special efforts are being made to expedite the RRR project, which was delayed after the BRS government wrote to the Centre asking for payment of utility charges. Now Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has sent a letter to the Centre stating that the state would pay the utility charges," Venkat Reddy said.

He said that on an everyday average, at least 60,000 vehicles travel on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada national highway. Although GMR is supposed to take over the road work and complete it by 2024, they have not done so due to various reasons. As a result of delays, many lives are being lost due to frequent accidents, he said.

"When I was an MP from Nalgonda, 17 black spots were identified to prevent accidents. Even though `375 crore were sanctioned, GMR, which had to do the work, went to court twice. We will complete the work at least to get temporary relief before December," he said.

Due to the negligence of the previous government, works on 16 state highways were delayed.

“We urged Gadkari to allocate more national highways to Telangana,” Venkat Reddy said.