File photo of a woman protesting by sitting in a pothole filled with water on May 23, 2024 to demand road repairs in Hyderabad.
Hyderabad: The State government has reportedly decided to take up repair works on 436 kilometres of State roads. Roads and Buildings officials are working on the modalities to complete the tender process to take up the repairs.
According to officials, usually road repairs are taken up before the the onset of the monsoon, however, since the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) was in force due to the Lok Sabha polls, the State government could not finalise tenders to take up repairs.
Under the Central Road Infrastructure Fund (CRIF), the Central government has allocated Rs.850 crore to the State in the last financial year. However, due to the assembly elections in the State last year, there was no opportunity to finalize the work even though funds were received from the Centre. After the assembly polls, the Lok Sabha election process started and the officials could not finalise the tender process due to the Model Code of Conduct.
Now that the Lok Sabha elections are over, the authorities have prepared proposals to take up the road repairs across the State. Sources informed that the officials were planning to complete the tender process by the end of this month. The tenders received in the past have been finalised and the work is likely to begin in the first week of July, the officials said.
Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy has reportedly asked the officials to complete the process of the tenders at the earliest. He reportedly directed the officials to take up maintenance and repair work of State roads on a priority basis. The government has decided to spend the CRIF funds to repair roads in all the districts of the State, the sources said..
Meanwhile, in the absence of regular repair and maintenance work, several roads in the State have developed potholes and uneven patches. Commuters are going through a harrowing time while navigating through such roads across the State. Even a slight downpour was causing trouble to the commuters. With the State expected to receive above normal rainfall during the monsoon season, a large stretch of roads are likely to get damaged due to heavy rain and inundation.