Nitin Gadkari announces Rs 5,500 cr for Hyderabad regional ring road

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Saturday announced sanctioning of Rs 5,500 crore for laying regional ring road around Hyderabad. The 363 km proposed ring road is expected to ease the traffic problem in and around the city. The minister also announced Rs 1,700 crore for Telangana under Central Road Fund (CRF) and asked the state government to submit the proposals for sanctioning. He made the announcements while laying foundation for four road projects here.

The Minister said he was also sanctioning another Rs.1,000 crore for four laning of 68 km stretch Mednoor-Bodhan-Nizamabad. Gadkari advised the Telangana government to develop four satellite cities to ensure that Hyderabad`s infrastructure is not further burdened. He suggested that the state take steps like operating electric buses. He also underlined the need to switch over to alternate fuel to check pollution and reduce cost of transportation.

He noted that in the last four years, the central government increased the length of national highways in Telangana from 2,443 km to 5,514 km. Telangana`s Municipal Administration Minister K. T. Rama Rao sought Centre`s help for Strategic Road Development Project (SRDP).

Under this project, the state is developing 54 junctions in Hyderabad by building flyovers, skyways and elevated corridors at a cost of Rs 23,000 crore. Rama Rao said works worth Rs 3,000 crore had already started while works worth Rs 4,000 crore will be launched soon.

He also urged Gadkari to use his good offices with Defence Minister Nirmala Sitaraman for handing over 100 acres of defence land to build an elevated corridor in Secunderabad. Rama Rao, who is son of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, said the Defence Ministry was unfortunately not cooperating with the state government though it was offered 600 acres of alternate land. 

Gadkari laid the foundation stone for a flyover at Amberpet, an elevated corridor at Uppal on Hyderabad-Warangal highway, six laning of Aramgarh-Shamsabad section of National Highway 44 between Hyderabad and Bengaluru and rehabilitation and upgradation of National Highway 765D from Hyderabad outer ring road to Medak. The four projects are estimated to cost Rs 1,500 crore.