Telangana sets December 2027 deadline for Nagpur–Vijayawada greenfield highway

The Nagpur–Mancherial–Warangal–Khammam–Vijayawada Greenfield Highway is now expected to be ready by December 31, 2027, Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy told the Telangana Legislative Council on Saturday.

Responding to questions from MLCs Pochampally Srinivas Reddy and Professor Kodandaram, the Minister said the State government would press for an exit near Parkal to serve local residents, and that instructions would be issued to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials on the matter without delay.

Describing the corridor as a key connectivity project, he said the highway runs about 310 km, of which close to 280 km lies in Telangana. It is expected to link several districts and ease travel from the State towards both Nagpur and Vijayawada.

On the Mancherial–Warangal stretch, the Minister said the work had been split into packages and awarded. Letters of Award were issued on March 31, 2023, and agreements followed on May 23. Although the original schedule allowed 730 days, land acquisition problems, court cases and other factors held up progress.

He said almost all land acquisition issues had been settled, with only small stretches remaining, and that these would be resolved soon. Compensation would be paid at market rates, he added, addressing concerns raised by Prof. Kodandaram.

Land handover is still pending at one or two locations, involving roughly 1 to 1.30 km in one place and 5.7 km in another package. The State government would coordinate with NHAI to close these gaps quickly, he said.

While land acquisition is the State's responsibility, the Minister noted that construction is being carried out entirely by NHAI. He also referred to a review of the project by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on May 26. Given the delays, the contractor has been granted an extension of time, with the revised completion target fixed at December 31, 2027.