NHAI has sought several explanations from the TS government

Work on the much-awaited regional ring road, an ambitious road project proposed to be taken up in the State, is unlikely to begin before completion of general elections.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has sought several explanations from the State government, particularly on the finer aspects relating to the financial viability of the massive project.

The NHAI, during a recent meeting with the State government officials in New Delhi, sought clarifications on norms that would be adopted for the road conceived as an expressway, land use pattern and other issues.

Senior officials were of the view that the Centre was intentionally dilly-dallying on the project during the election time as it involved huge costs. “The Centre is obviously buying time until the new government comes to power at the Centre. The project will be cleared within no time if the Telangana Rashtra Samithi emerges as key player in the formation of the next government,” a senior official told.

The Central government had also sought clarifications regarding some of the alignments in the detailed project report submitted to the NHAI authorities suggesting that the State take up realignment on some stretches so that the costs involved could be pruned to some extent. Conceived with an initial estimate of ? 5,500 crore, the 360-km stretch with 60 m width has been proposed to strengthen the existing roads connecting major national highways passing through the State easing regional road connectivity.

The project cost has since been increased to close to ? 12,000 crore, including ? 3,000 crore for land acquisition alone, as Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao wanted the entire stretch to be developed as an expressway with international standards. The project received in principle clearance from the Centre in December last year and the State had agreed to bear 50% cost of the land acquisition.