India News | Massive Increase in NH Network in T'gana, Says Union Minister Kishan Reddy

Hyderabad, Feb 19 (PTI) The NDA government at the Centre has taken up construction of highways on a large-scale in Telangana with the network of National Highways increasing by 99 per cent in the State since 2014, Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy said on Saturday.

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Reddy, who spoke to reporters on the development of highways in Telangana, said the NH and others in the infrastructure sector have been among the thrust areas of the Modi-headed government.

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Asserting that highway connectivity got an impetus during the previous NDA government led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he alleged that the construction of highways moved at a snail's pace during the UPA regime.

An average of 37 kms of NH are being constructed everyday in the country and such construction is not happening on such a scale in any other country in the world, he claimed.

The Modi government has given Telangana priority to building NH, he said.

The length of NH in the State was 2,511 km before Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, and 2,483 km of new NHs have been built in the last seven years, he said.

The length of NH in 2021 in the State was 4,994 km.

The NH network increased by 99 per cent after Modi became the Prime Minister, he said.

All the districts of the State, except Peddapalli, are now connected by NH.

Reddy said the new NH works at a cost of Rs 31,624 crore have been sanctioned during the last six years.

He said works, including a regional ring road (RRR) at a cost of Rs 32,755 crore, are being sanctioned (during 2022-23).

The Hyderabad-Bengaluru NH 44 in Telangana would be made into a six-lane from the existing four-lane, he said.

It is not only planned to develop the existing highway from 4-lane to 6-lane, but also as super information highway with real-time digital information management system, said an official press release. The approximate cost of conversion is Rs 4,750 crore, said the release. Under the PM Gati Shakti, five corridors of 898-km length costing Rs 22,706 crore have been included as high-impact projects in Telangana, the Union Minister said. He said a RRR has been proposed to be developed on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The northern part of proposed RRR for a length of 158.50 km is approved and notified as NH, the release said adding that the RRR would accelerate economic development.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)