CM Revanth Expresses Anger at ORR Maintenance and Safety Measures

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Thursday expressed strong displeasure over the manner in which the Hyderabad Outer Ring Road (ORR) was being maintained and operated by the private concessionaire, citing poor upkeep and rising safety concerns. Chairing a high-level review meeting with officials of the HMDA and Hyderabad Road Development Corporation Limited (HRDCL) late on Thursday, the Chief Minister said the current ORR maintenance standards were unacceptable and warned that negligence by the contractor was leading to frequent accidents.

Revanth Reddy observed that vehicles were being parked indiscriminately at several locations along the ORR. Holding the contractor responsible for the lax maintenance, he directed officials to continuously monitor the operation and upkeep of the expressway and ensure strict compliance with safety norms. He made it clear that the contractor's negligence would not be tolerated and instructed officials to closely supervise maintenance activities on a regular basis.

The Chief Minister also called for the creation of an integrated road management system that would bring all road networks under a single digital platform. He directed officials to include every aspect related to roads, including land acquisition, project financing, loans, maintenance and monitoring, within the unified system.

The platform, he said, should cover the ORR, the proposed Regional Ring Road (RRR), flyovers, underpasses and all other major roads across Hyderabad to enable better planning, coordination and execution.

Reviewing issues related to transferable development rights (TDR), Revanth Reddy instructed officials to constitute a special committee to examine the mechanism. He said TDR should be granted only for land officially acquired by the government and ordered that the TDR process be made completely online. Stressing transparency, he directed officials to establish a foolproof digital system that leaves no scope for irregularities or manipulation.

The Chief Minister asked officials to expedite the construction of radial roads and specifically directed that Radial Road-1 connecting Kongarakalan to Future City be completed by December 9. He instructed officials to resolve all pending hurdles in radial road projects at the earliest and emphasised that there would be no compromise on the quality of road construction.

He also directed engineers to ensure proper selection and use of soil during construction to avoid future structural problems and instructed that adequate greenery be developed along both sides of roads.

Describing the Badvel Interchange trumpet as a critical infrastructure component, Revanth Reddy directed officials to speed up works on Elevated Corridors I and II. He also instructed that construction of Elevated Corridor III from Banjara Hills to Shilpa Layout Road should commence without delay.

Stressing that Hyderabad's future growth depends on a robust road infrastructure, the Chief Minister directed officials to accelerate land acquisition for ongoing and proposed projects and warned them against any laxity in execution. He instructed that the Traffic Police should be involved in road planning and construction to ensure better traffic management and road design. He also warned officials not to tolerate the interference of middlemen in the land pooling process and directed them to ensure transparency throughout land acquisition and infrastructure development.

The review meeting was attended by special chief secretary Jayesh Ranjan, Chief Minister's secretary Manicka Raj, HMDA commissioner Sarfaraz Ahmad, Rangareddy collector C Narayana Reddy and senior officials.