Hyderabad: In a big push to infrastructure, Telangana govt is acquiring nearly 1,000 acres of land—probably for the first time on such a scale—for building a 330-feet wide access-controlled, greenfield radial road.This six-lane expressway will serve as a critical link connecting Future City to the Nehru Outer Ring Road (ORR) and the proposed Regional Ring Road (RRR) and has been christened Ratan Tata Road in honour of the late industrialist.The radial road will be wider than the existing ORR and nearly comparable in scale to the planned RRR, making it one of the most ambitious road infrastructure projects in the region. The project is expected to transform the landscape of the area, catalyse the development of Future City, and significantly improve the economic prospects of local farmers and landowners, senior officials in the know explained.The revenue department has already kickstarted the process by issuing acquisition notifications for 449 acres in nine villages in the Ibrahimpatnam, Kandukur, and Maheshwaram mandals, and an additional 554 acres from Yacharam, Kadthal, and Amangal mandals, all in Rangareddy district.Keeping in view the earlier land acquisition challenges, particularly those related to the Pharma City project, that led to several court cases, the govt is taking a measured, consultative approach. Rather than using force, officials are engaging with landowners and attempting to persuade them with enhanced compensation packages.Despite this, resistance remains in several villages where farmers argue that the proposed compensation of ₹25 lakh per acre is inadequate. However, authorities claim that many farmers have already come forward to give their consent, and they remain hopeful that others will follow suit.Project scope, visionThe proposed 41-kilometre-long expressway will be developed in two phases: In phase I, there will be a 19-km stretch from Raviryal (Tata Interchange on ORR) to Meerkhanpet and in phase II, 22 km from Meerkhanpet to Amangal, where it will connect to the RRR.The project has been entrusted to the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), with an estimated cost of ₹1,665 crore for phase I and ₹2,365 crore for phase II. A senior HMDA official said, unlike the ORR—which was developed with minimal scope for future expansion—the radial road has been planned with foresight.“For the 158-km ORR, only 6,000 acres were acquired, whereas for this 41-km radial road, 1,000 acres are being acquired to accommodate special features and future growth,” the official said.
