Despite contractors’ concerns, Congress government firm on HAM roads

Despite concerns from contractors and appeals to reconsider, the Telangana government will proceed with implementing the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) for road infrastructure. The decision follows a meeting with ministers and stakeholders, where contractors warned of massive job losses.

Hyderabad: Despite repeated appeals and concerns from contractors opposing the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) for road infrastructure projects, the Congress government has decided to go ahead with its implementation at the earliest.

In June, the Builders Association of India wrote to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy urging him to reconsider the plan. The Association argued that HAM was not viable in Telangana and warned it would affect both contractors and workers’ livelihoods.

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Setting aside the appeal, the Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department held a meeting with contractors in Hyderabad a fortnight ago to gather feedback. The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, R&B Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and senior officials.

Contractors pointed out that if road repairs and maintenance were handed over to corporate agencies under HAM, small contractors would lose work, and thousands of workers employed in about 120 batch mix plants would lose their livelihoods. They suggested that HAM should be confined to only new road projects and demanded government guarantees for loans taken for HAM works, so contractors were not held responsible for repayment delays.

The Ministers assured the contractors that their issues would be placed before the Cabinet for discussion and a decision would follow.

However, Venkat Reddy later asserted that tenders would soon be floated to push ahead with HAM projects, marking a departure from the earlier assurance.

“Soon after the monsoon season, HAM works will be commenced. This will benefit the government and road users,” he said at a review meeting with officials.

In the first phase, the R&B Department will take up 17 packages covering 5,190 km at a cost of Rs. 6,478.33 crore, while the Panchayat Raj Engineering Department will handle 17 packages spanning 7,947 km at a cost of about Rs. 6,000 crore.