Complete Chevella Road Widening in Year, Says CM Revanth
Although the road widening was scheduled to be completed in 18 months, the Chief Minister directed officials to accelerate the works so that the highway can be opened to the public by New Year 2027.
Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Friday directed national highway officials and the contracting agency to complete the four-laning of the Hyderabad–Bijapur highway within a year. The stretch between Moinabad, Chevella and Vikarabad, the Chief Minister noted, was one of the most accident-prone in the state.
Although the road widening was scheduled to be completed in 18 months, the Chief Minister directed officials to accelerate the works so that the highway can be opened to the public by New Year 2027.
He said the stretch has witnessed accidents almost every day, claiming hundreds of lives and injuring thousands over the past decade, making rapid execution critical for public safety. The Chief Minister noted that pending cases in the NGT filed by banyan tree conservation activists had blocked widening works for years.
During the review meeting, Revanth Reddy felicitated Parigi Congress MLA T. Rammohan Reddy and representatives of banyan tree conservation groups, appreciating their efforts and cooperation in arriving at a mutually agreeable solution on the relocation of banyan trees and facilitating the road-widening works.
On Friday, the Chief Minister reviewed the progress of works, which were sped up after the accident near Mirzaguda in Chevella on November 3, in which an RTC bus and a gravel-laden tipper collided head-on, killing 19 people and injuring several others.
The existing two-lane road, barely seven metres wide, winds through Chevella, Manneguda, Vikarabad and Kodangal with more than 150 sharp curves and little to no crash barriers or reflectors, contributing to repeated fatal accidents. Official data shows that at least 280 deaths occurred on the stretch between 2018 and December 2024.
The four-laning project, conceived in 2013, remained stalled for years due to cases filed before the National Green Tribunal by the “Save Banyan Trees Trust,” which opposed the felling of centuries-old banyan trees along the route. After the Congress government assumed office in December 2023, efforts were intensified to resolve the dispute. The Chief Minister entrusted Parigi MLA T. Rammohan Reddy with the task of negotiating with activists and presenting alternatives.
Following multiple consultations, the government decided to retain 765 of the 915 banyan trees and relocate 150 trees through realignment of the highway. Activists accepted the proposal, withdrew their NGT petitions and cleared legal hurdles for the commencement of long-pending expansion works.