Telangana minister sets December 2027 deadline for 310-km Nagpur-Vijayawada expressway

Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy has announced that the Nagpur, Mancherial, Warangal, Khammam, Vijayawada greenfield highway will be completed by December 31, 2027, addressing the Legislative Council amid questions about delays in the multi-state connectivity project.

Responding to MLCs Pochampally Srinivas Reddy and M. Kodandaram in the Telangana Legislative Council, the minister outlined the revised timeline for the 310-km expressway, nearly 280 km of which runs through Telangana. He also committed to securing an exit on the highway close to Parkal to serve local residents, saying instructions would be issued to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials immediately.

Critical link for Telangana's inter-state movement

Mr. Venkat Reddy described the 310-km highway as a crucial connectivity project that would link several districts within the state and serve as an important corridor for people travelling from Telangana towards Nagpur and Vijayawada. The route threads through key centres including Mancherial, Warangal and Khammam before reaching Vijayawada in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

The Mancherial, Warangal section has been divided into packages and tenders awarded, with Letters of Award issued on March 31, 2023, and agreements signed on May 23 the same year. The project was initially scheduled for completion within 730 days, but land acquisition problems, court cases and other factors caused delays, prompting the contractor to seek and receive an extension.

Land acquisition hurdles mostly cleared

"Almost all land acquisition issues have been resolved. Only minor issues involving small stretches of land remain and these too will be settled shortly," the minister told the Council. He said handover of land was pending only at one or two locations, involving stretches of about 1 to 1.30 km at one place and 5.7 km in another package.

Addressing concerns raised by Mr. Kodandaram over land acquisition, Mr. Venkat Reddy assured that the government had taken the issues into consideration and that farmers would not be subjected to any injustice. Compensation would be paid in accordance with market rates, he said. The State government would coordinate with NHAI to resolve the remaining issues at the earliest, he added.

Division of responsibilities between state and Centre

The minister clarified that while the State government is responsible for land acquisition, the construction work is being executed entirely under the NHAI. He also referred to a review of the project by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on May 26, saying the Union minister had underscored the importance of the highway for Telangana, particularly for connectivity to Nagpur.

The revised completion date of December 31, 2027, has been fixed in view of the delays caused by land and legal issues, Mr. Venkat Reddy told the House.

Source: The Hindu