Telangana budget: Roads and Buildings gets big boost with 150 per cent increase in allocations

State govt allocates Rs 8,788 crore to department against Rs 3,493 crore in the 2020-21 State Budget

Hyderabad: The Roads and Buildings sector has received a major boost with the State government allocating Rs 8,788 crore, recording a quantum jump of 150 per cent over last year’s allocation of Rs 3,493 crore in the 2020-21 State Budget. The allocation includes Rs 800 crore for repairs of R&B roads affected by floods and for regular maintenance. This apart, an amount of Rs 300 crore has been proposed for Panchayat Raj roads. More importantly, the government decided to allocate special funds in the Budget for the repair of roads before the monsoon season.

The State government is focusing on the construction of integrated Collectorates and District police offices in all the district centres and these works are being taken up at a brisk pace. The construction of the Police Command Control Centre in Hyderabad city will be completed shortly and the government has sanctioned Rs 725 crore towards this project in the budget.

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After the formation of Telangana, there has been a substantial improvement in the road network and its quality. A new road network covering a length of 5,800 km have been laid in the rural areas. Under the R&B department limits till date, 360 km of four-lane roads and 7,630 km of double lane roads have been constructed.

The Government has also taken up the construction of 386 bridges across the State. In 2014, at the time of State formation, there were only 32 ROBs and RUBs. By 2019-20, the construction of 21 new ROBs and RUBs has been completed. Administrative sanction has been accorded for 21 more new ROBs and RUBs. Towards this, an amount of Rs 400 crore is proposed.

Secretariat complex

The State government is constructing the new Secretariat complex on top priority and an amount of Rs 610 crore has been sanctioned in the budget estimates 2021-22.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, during the inspection of the works in January, had instructed the officials to maintain high-quality standards and complete the project as per schedule. The Joint Committee appointed by National Green Tribunal has also given a clean chit saying all the guidelines in demolition and disposal of the C&D waste generated due to Secretariat complex demolition were being followed.