Hyderabad/New Delhi, Jun 27 (IANS): Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Wednesday requested Union Road Transport and National Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari to declare the southern part of the proposed Regional Ring Road (RRR) as a National Highway and widen the Hyderabad-Vijayawada national highway to six lanes.

Revanth Reddy called on Gadkari in the national capital and discussed various state-specific issues relating to national highways.

According to the Chief Minister’s Office, the Union Minister was requested to declare the southern part of RRR as a national highway and grant funds in the National Highway Authority of India’s annual plan this year. Revanth Reddy also underlined the need for immediately taking up the widening of the Hyderabad-Vijayawada National Highway (NH 65) to six lanes as he expressed concern over increasing accidents and loss of lives due to fast-growing vehicular traffic on the highway.

More than 60,000 vehicles are plying on the particular highway every day.

The Chief Minister mentioned that though the widening of Hyderabad-Vijayawada was supposed to be completed by April 2024, the contract agency has not taken up the six-lane project on the pretext that the vehicular traffic was reduced after the bifurcation and the agency was not getting proper income.

He appealed to resolve the dispute between NHAI and the contract company and take up the work immediately.

Revanth Reddy also appealed to Gadkari to declare the road from Choutuppal to Amangal-Shadnagar-Sangareddy (181.87 km) as a National Highway.

The Union Minister was informed that the Sangareddy to Narsapur-Toopran-Gajwel-Jagdevpur-Bhongir-Choutuppal road on 158.645 km stretch has already been declared as a National Highway and half of its land acquisition cost will be borne by the state government.

The CM also brought to the notice of Gadkari that the tenders for the sanctioned National Highway from Hyderabad (ORR Gourelli Junction) to Valigonda-Thorrur-Nellikuduru-Mahabubabad-Kothagudem have been called for only one package on 69 km stretch and the works started. He requested the Union Minister to start work immediately on the remaining three packages (165 km) of this national highway.

He also sought that the Kalwakurthi to Kolhapur-Somasila-Karivena-Nandyal (NH-167K) road be made a National Highway and tenders called to take up works on 142 km stretch road

The CM said that tenders were called for the works of the remaining 32 km and the construction of the iconic bridge and requested to start works immediately. The distance between Hyderabad and Tirupati will be reduced by 70 km once the proposed national highway is completed.

The union minister has been asked to upgrade the two-lane road between Hyderabad and Kalwakurthy (NH 765K) to four lanes. The CM said that land acquisition has been completed after declaring the Hyderabad-Manneguda four-lane National Highway (NH-163) which connects Telangana, Karnataka, and Maharashtra.

Tenders were called but the works did not start due to a case pending before the National Green Tribunal.

The NHAI agreed to the translocation of the Banyan trees along the route as per the norms prescribed by the Union Ministry of Environment. The CM asserted the alignment should not be changed at this stage and requested the Union Minister to issue appropriate instructions to the concerned departments and start the works immediately.