Hyderabad: Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Minister Dr Danasari Anasuya Seethakka directed officials to accelerate HAM rural roads projects across Telangana. She said the government was building rural roads on par with urban standards by adopting the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM).
The Minister reviewed the progress of the projects during a meeting at the Secretariat on Saturday. Panchayat Raj Special Chief Secretary Dana Kishore, Engineer-in-Chief Joga Reddy and Chief Engineers attended the review meeting.
Further, Seethakka said Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy envisioned providing every village with quality road connectivity. Under the HAM model, the Panchayat Raj Department is constructing and upgrading 18,472 kilometres of roads covering 6,703 villages across the State.
Meanwhile, the government has taken up the widening and reconstruction of 7,450 kilometres of roads in 2,678 villages during the first phase. She said 90 per cent of the first-phase works focus on upgrading existing roads. In addition, the government will provide 934 kilometres of new bituminous (BT) and cement concrete (CC) roads to 179 villages that have lacked proper road connectivity for decades.
HAM rural roads to improve village connectivity
Moreover, Seethakka said Telangana’s implementation of the HAM model had attracted nationwide attention. Therefore, the government had prepared comprehensive operational guidelines for the programme. She expressed confidence that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would grant the required approvals by next week. She directed officials to complete all contract agreements by August 15.
Further, the Minister instructed contractors to begin work immediately after signing the agreements. She urged them to execute the projects with the same commitment they had shown while securing the tenders. She also asked them to complete the works within the stipulated time.
Accordingly, Seethakka directed officials to upgrade existing single-lane roads to standards capable of handling heavy vehicles. She also instructed them to issue a circular immediately to District Collectors to speed up land acquisition and tree removal wherever required for the projects.