Officials draw flak for changing alignment of NH-63

The NHAI proposed to create a 143 kilometre four-lane highway from Armoor of Nizamabad district to Mancherial district centre via Jagtial district.

Mancherial: Officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) are drawing flak from the public for changing the alignment for the proposed Armoor-Mancherial national highway 63 three times, citing various reasons.

The NHAI proposed to create a 143 kilometre four-lane highway from Armoor of Nizamabad district to Mancherial district centre via Jagtial district to boost road infrastructure and to reduce road accidents, at an estimated cost of Rs.3,000 crore two years ago.

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The State government gave its nod to acquire land a few weeks ago. The authority withdrew its initial alignment of the stretch, which would pass through agriculture fields, considering financial implications caused by acquisition of costly lands and protests by farmers. It backtracked and planned to convert the existing double-lane road into a four-lane one.

However, it cancelled the move when locals of villages and towns en route launched protests against the alignment. The NHAI has now been forced to upgrade the present road, but by constructing bypasses that proceed through farms along the banks of Godavari river from Mulkalla village in Hajipur of Mancherial to Rayapatnam village in Dharmapuri mandal of Jagtial district.

The NHAI finalised this alignment and sent it to higher authorities in New Delhi for their nod recently. However, farmers expressed displeasure over the change in the alignment of the network.

They expressed objections to the third alignment which would be winding through peripherals of Rangapet, Mulkalla, Vempalli, Hajipur, Luxettipet and many towns in the three districts.

The highway now skips Kurmapalli, Gadderagadi, MNR Gardens, Amma Gardens, RR Nagar and Rangapet before touching Vempalli and Mulkalla villages in Hajipur mandal as proposed in the first alignment.

The farmers of Mancherial, Hajipur and Luxettipet mandals alleged that the officials changed the second alignment only to benefit some realtors and big shots whose lands were situated on the way, but to cause huge losses to the poor.

They regretted that their fields would pave the way for the network and their lives were going to be adversely impacted with the advent of the facility.

NHAI Project Director KN Ajay Manikumar said that about 40 percent of the alignment was changed due to certain reasons including objections by locals. The latest design was sent to higher officials for their approval.

The land acquisition process would begin shortly. Acquisition of the lands located on the remaining 60 percent of the design was under progress, he said.