Hyderabad, Dec 10 (IANS): The new Congress government in Telangana will give top priority to widening and improvement of Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway to reduce the travel time between two cities, Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy said.
After taking charge as the minister at Dr B. R. Ambedkar Telangana Secretariat, he told media persons that the government will focus on works relating to Hyderabad-Vijayawada to reduce the travel time to two-and-a-half hours.
He said he would meet Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari in Delhi and request him to approve widening of Hyderabad-Vijayawada into a six-lane highway.
Venkat Reddy said he would visit New Delhi on Monday to submit his resignation as Lok Sabha member and to meet Gadkari in connection with the highway projects in Telangana.
He said he would request the Centre to upgrade 14 state roads as national highways. These include Mallepally-Nalgonda and Regional Rong Road (RRR) South-Choutuppal-Amangal-Shadnagar-Sangareddy.
He will also raise the demand for four-laning of Hyderabad-Kalwakurthy section of National Highway 765.
He will also request the Centre to increase Central Road Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) budget for Telangana. Immediately after assuming office he sanctioned four laning of Nalgonda-Mushampally-Dharmapuram road in Nalgonda district at a cost of Rs 100 crore.
The Lingampally-Dudyal road in Vikarabad district will be strengthened at the cost of Rs 4.15 crore. As part of the balance works of Nakrekal-Nagarjuna Sagar Road, improvement of Nalgonda town limits will be taken up.
He alleged that the previous BRS government did not pay attention to development of highways during the last 10 years. The minister said that the surroundings of Assembly premises including the adjacent Public Gardens will be developed as an important tourism area.
He said that the old Assembly building, which is a heritage structure, will be restored to conduct the Legislative Council sessions. He said old buildings of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) and other parties will be demolished to build new structures and beautification work will be taken up from Public Garden to Lalita Kala Thoranam.
He, along with Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, Legislative Council chairman and other officials, will visit the area in next few days.
Venkat Reddy said officials have been directed to undertake repairs of all the highways in the next one month.
The minister said the Congress government remained committed to fulfil all six guarantees given to people in 100 days. He claimed that the Mahalakshmi scheme inaugurated by the Chief Minister on Saturday to provide free travel facility to women in TSRTC buses was earning appreciation from women around the world.