Minister: New HAM Highways Key To Link Mandal, District HQ
50% of Telangana’s roads to be covered under HAM
Hyderabad:Roads and buildings minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy said that new highways built under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) will be critical to strengthening connectivity between mandal and district headquarters. Road construction, he added, will be prioritised across urban, semi-urban, and rural areas. He instructed officials to begin the tender process for HAM packages immediately after the Chief Minister approves them.
Venkat Reddy noted that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy is giving equal priority to public welfare and state development.
On Wednesday, the minister held a five-hour review meeting at the Secretariat with senior officials from the Roads & Buildings Department and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). He examined details of the proposed road packages and directed that all construction strictly follow NHAI norms, ensuring top-tier quality and a minimum life of 10 years. Work agencies, he stressed, must be informed of these quality expectations in advance.
Field visits and quality checks, the minister said, must be conducted regularly by R&B officials. Low- and high-level bridges should be identified in advance, and preventive safety measures undertaken in consultation with engineering consultants to avoid future risks and ensure smooth transport.
Under the HAM model, roughly 50 per cent of Telangana’s roads will be covered. Komatireddy urged officials to treat the initiative as a mission and work around the clock to meet targets.
He also said that, following the start of works on the northern section of the Regional Ring Road, he will accompany the Chief Minister to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to seek approval for the southern section.
Reviewing the NH-65 project, the minister asked about the six-lane expansion from Madinaguda to Sangareddy and told officials to accelerate construction. He further ordered the immediate completion of pending work on TIMS hospitals, Warangal Hospital, medical colleges, collectorate buildings, and several road-overbridges nearing completion.
The meeting was attended by MLA Madan Mohan Rao; Special Chief Secretary Vikas Raj; NHAI Regional Officer Krishna Prasad; NH officials; R&B ENC Jaya Bharathi; Chief Engineers Rajeshwar Reddy and Mohan Naik; SE Dharmareddy; and other department officers.
