Hyderabad: Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy on Friday directed Mines department officials not to harass Road contractors over permissions required to source metal and other construction materials for road projects.
Chairing a review meeting at the Secretariat with Mines and Geology Minister Dr G. Vivek Venkataswamy, Komatireddy said sand, soil and metal were essential for road construction. Moreover, he said officials should not target genuine contractors while allowing illegal mining activities to continue.
MLC Damodar Reddy, MLA Megha Reddy, TGMDC Managing Director Anudeep Durishetty, R&B Chief Engineer (HAM Roads) B.V. Rao and representatives of the Mining Contractors Association attended the meeting.
Road contractors raise permit issues
Representatives of the association highlighted several difficulties in obtaining mining-related permissions. Meanwhile, the Ministers said imposing penalties amounting to 10 times the value of the material on small contractors was unjustified.
Komatireddy urged Vivek Venkataswamy to initiate action against the official allegedly linked to the circumstances that led to contractor Srinivas Reddy’s suicide. Further, he described the imposition of a ₹54-crore penalty over a ₹5-crore issue as excessive.
He said contractors were making payments according to their agreements. In addition, he reiterated that the Mines department should not harass small contractors.
Komatireddy said the State government had launched Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) road projects to develop high-quality roads across Telangana. Finally, he said the government aimed to complete the works by August 2028 under the leadership of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy.
Responding to the concerns, Vivek Venkataswamy directed Mines department officials to take appropriate action.