Nitin Gadkari to lay stone for road works in Telangana

Hyderabad: Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari to lay the foundation stone and take part in the groundbreaking ceremony of eight road development projects on December 21. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, MPs, MLAs and MLCs from Telangana will take part in the event via virtual platform.

Informing further, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy said that Gadkari would be laying the foundation stone for 396 km of road projects to be taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 9,440 crore in the State and 370 km roads to be taken up with Rs 3,717 crore.

Kishan Reddy said the Chief Minister, MPs, MLAs and MLCs would participate in the event via a virtual platform, along with Nitin Gadkari. He said that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has taken up seven out of 14 projects estimated to cost about Rs 13,157 crore. Nitin Gadkari would be dedicating one project to the nation and perform the groundbreaking ceremony, Kishan Reddy said.

Further, in Telangana, the Public Works Department is implementing seven projects. Out of this, five will be dedicated to the nation and the Union Roads and Transport Minister will perform the groundbreaking ceremony for the two projects, Kishan Reddy said, adding that the Centre has taken up development of basic infrastructure under Bharat Mala, in an extent of 35,000 km of national highways. Out of this, 1,400 km national highways falling in Telangana are being taken under Bharat Mala Scheme -I/NH(0). That apart, under phase-II of the Bharat Mala, it has also been decided to develop 750 km of expressways.

The Secunderabad MP said that the extent of national highways in Telangana till May 2014 was 2,511 km. However, the same has gone up to 3,910 km registering the highest growth rate of 55.71 per cent (1,399 km). He said that the development activity reflects the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foresight and commitment to ensure the development and basic road infrastructure in the country.