Release funds for land acquisition for RRR: Kishan

Hyderabad: Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and Development of North Eastern States, G Kishan Reddy wrote a letter to Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhara Rao to immediately release the funds for land acquisition for the Regional Ring Road (RRR).

In a letter to CM KCR on Saturday, he said that the RRR of 350 km at an estimated cost of Rs 26,000 crore for Hyderabad. As per the assurance of the State government, a letter requesting 50 per cent of the funds of the RRR land acquisition cost be deposited with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Kishan Reddy said that the Centre will bear the entire construction cost of the RRR project. Both governments have agreed that 50 per cent of the cost of land acquisition will be borne by the central government and the remaining 50 per cent by the State government.

The Centre under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, not only sanctioned the construction of the 'Green Field Expressway' (Regional Ring Road) around the city of Hyderabad as part of the Bharatmala project, but also started the activities related to the construction of the project, as per the NH Act 1956, and cited the release of 'A' Gazette Notification.

Accordingly, 5 letters have been written by the Regional Office Officer of the National Highways Department and the Secretary of the Transport, Roads & Buildings Department of the Telangana Government asking to deposit the 50 per cent state share for the project. However, the Telangana government has not yet come forward on the matter of land acquisition cost. It is unfortunate that although Rs.500 crores have been allocated in the name of regional ring road land acquisition in the Telangana state budget for 2022-23, it has not been released so far. He said that the RRR would regulate the traffic of vehicles going to Hyderabad and it will give a fillip to the social and economic development of the state, benefitting many people.

Also, it will provide employment opportunities to the people of Telangana through various projects such as housing facilities for the poor and middle-class people, new townships, industrial usage, IT institutions, tourist centres, construction of entertainment parks, malls and accordingly the construction of parking complexes will play a key role in the development of the state of Telangana.

The survey for publication of the next 3'D' Gazette Notification for land acquisition is also lapsed, the Chief Minister should remember that if the state government does not come forward with 50 per cent of the cost of land acquisition within March 2023, then the 3 'A' Gazette Notification published earlier would go waste. In turn, it will unnecessarily delay the project. Against this backdrop, he asked CM KCR to deposit the state share of 50 per cent immediately, for the timely completion of the RRR project.