HYDERABAD: Former finance minister T. Harish Rao on Wednesday accused the Congress government of burdening people with a Rs 20,000 crore bill in the Regional Ring Road (RRR) project, which he said, was being mismanaged.
Speaking with reporters at Telangana Bhavan, the party headquarters, the senior BRS leader said the state government's sudden changes in the alignment of the southern part of RRR were made to benefit a few influential people, who own land in the region.
“By altering the alignment, the length of the road increased from 182 km to 198 km, and this change is something the central government will not accept. The decision to change the alignment will place an enormous `20,000 crore burden on the state. Why is the state government taking the project when the central government is ready to handle it? This only benefits contractors and influential individuals while ordinary people bear the costs,” Rao added.
The original RRR, as planned by the BRS government, had two separately planned sections – the northern and the southern.
“The 158-km northern section plan was sent to the central government, which approved it. Both the central and state governments agreed to equally share the land acquisition costs under Section 3A,” he explained.
He also demanded that the government immediately complete land acquisition, especially since a GO was issued 10 months ago.
“There has been no progress, and farmers, who are supposed to be compensated, are still waiting. Work on the northern section hasn’t moved forward. This delay is unacceptable, and we demand immediate action,” he said.
