Union Minister and Telangana BJP President G. Kishan Reddy.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The delay in land acquisition for the proposed 340-km Regional Ring Road (RRR) by the State government is stalling project progress, despite multiple letters being sent to the officials concerned, Telangana BJP president and Union Minister of Coal & Mines G. Kishan Reddy said.

The Centre, which is funding the project and covering 50% of the land acquisition cost, is eager to expedite its completion. Estimates for the northern section alone stand at ₹18,772 crore, he stated at a press conference at the party State office on Saturday.

Stating that 95% of the Centre’s work has been completed on time, he urged the State government to speed up the land acquisition process and offered to send another letter to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy regarding the matter.

The Centre has already spent about ₹6,820 crore towards development of national highways in Telangana over the years and about 10 road stretches are ready for inauguration by Union Minister of Road Transport and National Highways Nitin Gadkari.

Several other proposed national highways and connectivity roads will be discussed in the Cabinet before seeking the final approval. About ₹61,000 crore is being spent towards improving connectivity for national highways 44, 167, 202, 565, 365A and others with other States, explained Mr. Kishan Reddy.

The ₹300-crore Shamshabad airport highway road too has been completed to make it a signal-free journey for the passengers. If the government acquires land underneath the Amberpet flyover and hands it over, the road too will be relaid, he said.

Among the highway nearing completion are between Mahabubnagar-Jadcherla, Miryalguda, Nakrekal-Nagarjunasagar, Hyderabad-Pune, Kodad-Khammam, Nirmal, Khanapur, Mancherial-Repallevada, Mahabubnagar-Chincholi, and Mahabubnagar-Kalvakurty.

The Union Minister said the Centre will certainly complete the works under its ambit and he is ready to clarify any doubts about the same.

‘Lack of understanding’

In a related development, party spokesman N.V. Subash said the government’s criticism of the delimitation process reflects a “lack of understanding”, as the initiative is designed to ensure better representation and governance.

Parliamentary constituency delimitation is a necessary exercise, undertaken by considering population growth and other factors and has accused Mr. Revanth Reddy of blindly opposing delimitation, without fully grasping its benefits for Telangana.