- Hyderabad-Vijayawada (NH-65) 6-lane expansion work to begin in two months.
- Revanth Reddy reviews hurdles being faced by NHAI
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has called upon District Collectors to act in a humane manner when it comes to land acquisition process for construction or expansion of national highways. The officials concerned have been asked to pay compensation as per rules to the farmers whose lands had been acquired for building national highways. The Chief Minister held a review on the problems being faced by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) with regard to the construction of roads in Telangana State on Wednesday. The Chief Minister questioned the officials for the delay in the land acquisition process, though the state government had been extending all cooperation. The Collectors then informed the Chief Minister that farmers were not willing to give up their lands in view of variation in the prices of lands, with the market value of the lands being high and the registration prices low. The Chief Minister appreciated that the farmers were not ready to lose their lands since their forbears had owned it for generations. So, the Collectors were advised to hold a meeting with farmers and convince them about the dire need for land acquisition. The Chief Minister informed the officials that Union Minister for Road Transport and National Highways Nitin Gadkari had agreed in principle to consider the southern and northern parts of the Regional Ring Road (RRR) as one and assign it a single number. Hence, the officials have been asked to take steps immediately towards entering a tripartite agreement involving the state government, the Union government and NHAI. Revanth Reddy enquired from the officials the obstacles they had faced in the process of land acquisition in the northern part of RRR. Yadadri Bhuvanagiri Collector Hanmanth K. Zendage said that some farmers approached the court due to a mistake in the alignment issue, following which the High Court granted a stay. The Chief Minister ordered the Collector to file by Friday a counter to get the stay vacated. The Chief Minister enquired about the status of land acquisition on the Nagpur-Vijayawada corridor in Khammam district. www.dailypioneer.com RNI No. TELENG/2018/76469 *LATE CITY VOL. 6 ISSUE 268 *Air Surcharge Extra if Applicable Follow us on: @TheDailyPioneer facebook.com/dailypioneer HYDERABAD, THURSDAY, JULY 11, 2024; PAGES 12 `4 Established 1864 Published From: HYDERABAD DELHI LUCKNOW BHOPAL RAIPUR CHANDIGARH BHUBANESWAR RANCHI DEHRADUN VIJAYAWADA Brutal attacks on the unemployed are a testament to the true nature of the Congress. For 10 years, the unemployed in Telangana have been waiting with bated breath for jobs. The faulty policies of BRS in the job recruitment process severely harmed the unemployed. People hoped their lives would change with the Congress, but they are now questioning their decisions. What did you promise before the elections, and what are you doing now? Your true nature has become evident within seven months. – Etela Rajender, BJP MP BRS may step towards BJP-led NDA SNCN ACHARYULU n HYDERABAD Is the BRS stepping towards BJPled NDA? Political observers are expressing this doubt after the statement of BRS trouble-shooter and former minister T Harish Rao may be a sign of BRS’ future political journey. Harish Rao and BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Tuesday held an informal chat with the media at Delhi, when Harish Rao said, “The BRS will support the Centre on a case by case basis. If something good happens to Telangana, BJP will get support from the BRS.” However, Harish Rao made it clear that they will remain politically neutral. This shows the changing attitude of the BRS towards the BJP. Nobody will suspect the BRS if it will support the BJP in the issue of Telangana interests as told by Harish Rao. Supporting the Centre on case by case means the BRS may move closely to the NDA led by the BJP. In fact, in the present political circumstances BRS has no other option except joining the NDA to fight with the Congress in the State. The BRS may not have Lok Sabha members, but it has five Rajya Sabha members where their support is necessary to the Centre in the crucial times. Continued on Page 2 CM hands over Rs 25 L each to Padma awardees PNS n HYDERABAD In a notable ceremony held at the Secretariat, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy handed over cheques of Rs 25 lakh each to distinguished Padma Shri awardees. The event was marked by the presence of the awardees, their families and various dignitaries. The recipients of the cheques included Gaddam Sammayya, known for his exceptional contribution to social service; Dasari Kondappa, recognised for his significant impact in the field of arts; Velu Ananda Chari, honoured for his dedication to literature; Kurella Vithalachary, acknowledged for his advancements in science and technology; and Ketavath Somlal, esteemed for his work in education. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, while presenting the cheques, praised the awardees for their invaluable contributions to society. LAND ACQUISITION FOR RRR, CONSTRUCTION/EXPANSION OF NATIONAL HIGHWAYS Convince farmers, don’t force them CM Revanth Reddy holding a review meeting on Wednesday ” State Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao, who participated in the video conference from Khammam, said that the proposed road would pass through costly lands near Khammam and that the farmers owning those tracts would be convinced about the compensation. The Minister also said that the NHAI’s proposal to convert the national highway from Khammam to Ashwaraopet into state highway should not be accepted as work on the Tallada-Devarapalli green field road was already in progress. Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka appealed to the NHAI officials to construct service roads at big villages and underpasses at appropriate places on the road being constructed as part of the Nagpur-Vijayawada corridor so that farmers could go to their fields. In response, NHAI project member Anil Chaudhary said the highway authority would look into the issue raised by Deputy CM. The meeting also discussed the proposal to build gravel roads along the national highways for the use of agricultural vehicles and farmers. The NHAI project member said that the matter would be taken into consideration. The CM opined that the construction of gravel roads would be useful for farmers and there would be no problems in road expansion in the future. OFFICIALS ASKED TO COORDINATE The issue of transfer of forest lands to develop Armoor-Jagityal-Mancherial and Vijayawada-Nagpur corridor roads came up for discussion during the review. The Chief Minister asked the Collectors of Nizamabad, Manchiryala and Mahabubabad districts to allocate government lands as compensation to the forest lands. State Revenue and Forest Departments have been advised to coordinate with each other in the transfer of lands. The Chief Minister suggested that the Forest Department should take the government lands in lieu of their lands acquired for the construction of roads. The Chief Minister suggested that the payments related to the removal of utilities under the purview of various departments should be expedited.
