Vijayawada: Decks have been cleared for Amaravati outer ring road (ORR) as the highest decision making body, the project approval committee of ministry of road and surface transport, has accepted the proposal sent by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
The authorities of NHAI forwarded the project proposals following state govt’s request for revival of project originally cleared in 2018. The project was scrapped after YSRCP came into power.
Union govt has agreed to take up the project after chief minister Chandrababu Naidu made a personal pitch for the prestigious project during his visits to New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself routed the CM’s request and transport minister Nitin Gadkari agreed not only to revive the project but also take up the land acquisition cost.
After several rounds of discussions at the state level, the NHAI authorities have sent a detailed project report for the Centre’s clearance recently.
Sources said that the approval committee consisting of senior officials in MoRTH raised several queries about the draft proposal and trimmed certain facilities. The committee has suspended the already granted Vijayawada East bypass citing duplication of the project.
The 189-km long ORR is likely to spur the growth in five districts including Vijayawada, Guntur, Bapatla, Krishna and Palnadu.
The Centre estimated that it would cost around 16,000 crore including the land acquisition. Since chief minister Chandrababu Naidu promised to exempt SGST on the material procured and used for the construction of the project, the cost has come down by 1,150 crore.
Surprisingly, the approval committee has reduced the six-lane highway width to just 70 meters from the 150 meters proposed by the state govt. In its proposal, the state govt palnned to acquire land for 150 meters in view of the future expansions and also to lay the railway lines along the ORR. Sources said that the technical committee observed that 70 meters of width is sufficient to lay 8-lane road while the proposed highway is being constructed with just 6-lane. It felt that going for 150-meter width would only help escalate the project cost instead of serving the actual purpose.
“Since the land is proposed to be acquired under the National Highways Act, 1956, such land can’t be utilized for other purposes including laying of railway lines,” the committee felt. It suggested the state govt to go for additional land acquisition for railway line, if needed, in consultation with the ministry of railways.
The authorities of NHAI forwarded the project proposals following state govt’s request for revival of project originally cleared in 2018. The project was scrapped after YSRCP came into power.
Union govt has agreed to take up the project after chief minister Chandrababu Naidu made a personal pitch for the prestigious project during his visits to New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself routed the CM’s request and transport minister Nitin Gadkari agreed not only to revive the project but also take up the land acquisition cost.
After several rounds of discussions at the state level, the NHAI authorities have sent a detailed project report for the Centre’s clearance recently.
Sources said that the approval committee consisting of senior officials in MoRTH raised several queries about the draft proposal and trimmed certain facilities. The committee has suspended the already granted Vijayawada East bypass citing duplication of the project.
The 189-km long ORR is likely to spur the growth in five districts including Vijayawada, Guntur, Bapatla, Krishna and Palnadu.
The Centre estimated that it would cost around 16,000 crore including the land acquisition. Since chief minister Chandrababu Naidu promised to exempt SGST on the material procured and used for the construction of the project, the cost has come down by 1,150 crore.
Surprisingly, the approval committee has reduced the six-lane highway width to just 70 meters from the 150 meters proposed by the state govt. In its proposal, the state govt palnned to acquire land for 150 meters in view of the future expansions and also to lay the railway lines along the ORR. Sources said that the technical committee observed that 70 meters of width is sufficient to lay 8-lane road while the proposed highway is being constructed with just 6-lane. It felt that going for 150-meter width would only help escalate the project cost instead of serving the actual purpose.
“Since the land is proposed to be acquired under the National Highways Act, 1956, such land can’t be utilized for other purposes including laying of railway lines,” the committee felt. It suggested the state govt to go for additional land acquisition for railway line, if needed, in consultation with the ministry of railways.
