PNS|Vijayawada
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has instructed officials to resolve all pending issues related to land acquisition, forest, and wildlife clearances for national and state highway projects by the end of July. He emphasised the need for uninterrupted and accelerated road construction across Andhra Pradesh.
Chairing a review meeting at the Secretariat on Monday with top officials and contractors, the Chief Minister expressed displeasure over delays in several infrastructure projects. He made it clear that further setbacks in road works would not be tolerated.
Officials briefed the CM that 770 km of roads were completed in the last financial year under the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) at a total cost of Rs 11,325 crore. Andhra Pradesh currently has 8,744 km of national highways, including 4,406 km under NHAI, 641 km managed by MoRTH’s Project Implementation Unit (PIU), and 3,697 km overseen by the NH (R&B) wing.
At present, 144 projects covering 3,483 km are under construction at an estimated cost of Rs 76,856 crore. Of these, 1,392 km are under NHAI and 2,091 km under MoRTH. The Chief Minister has set a target to complete 1,040 km of highway works within 2025, at a projected cost of Rs 20,067 crore.
Meanwhile, the “Mission Pothole-Free Roads,” launched in November last year with an outlay of Rs 860.81 crore, has reached 97% completion as of June 6. A total of 19,475 km of roads have been repaired, with the remaining works to be completed by July 31.
