Kalaburagi: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has invited tenders for the development of a six-lane controlled greenfield highway covering a total distance of 177 km from Badadal village in Kalaburagi district to Singnodi in Raichur district. It will be the first access controlled highway in the state, and the first six-lane highway in northern Karnataka. The central government is spending about Rs 25 crore per kilometer on this highway. However, Kalaburagi is not a part of this highway network.
According to documents available with TOI, Sandeep Agarwal, General Manager (Technology), NHAI, New Delhi, has finalized four packages of tenders for 203.1 km of highways from Akkalkot in Maharashtra to Singnodi in Raichur district. Out of 4 packages, three packages, 2, 3 and 4, covering a distance of 177 km, are in Kalaburagi, Yadgir and Raichur districts of Karnataka, while Package-1 falls in Maharashtra.
Sunil Kulkarni, president of Kalyan Karnataka Grahakar Vedik, termed it a good development, as the fastest and shortest highway connects the Kalyan Karnataka region to Bengaluru and Mumbai. “It will also make Chennai, Surat, Tirupati, Pune and other cities closer to the region. The only setback is that Kalaburagi will not be a part of this highway network, which is a distance of about 35 km. However, we expect this distance to be filled by the industrial corridor in the coming years.”
Describing the tender document as perfect, he said that NHAI has made it the ideal document for any major project. “As per the document, this highway will get seven double trumpets at Gangapur, Jevargi, Sirwal, Khanapur, Guggal, Devasugur in Karnataka and Telangana border. Since it prohibits two-wheelers and unauthorized access, it is expected to be on par with highways in the United States or any other developed country in the world,” he said.
Sources in the NHAI Bengaluru Regional Office said the proposed highway is numbered as NH-150C, and its construction is expected to begin in a year. “Since the Bharatmala project is directly under Delhi’s control, we don’t know much about it,” he said.
Tenders currently called
* Tenders called for Rs 1,769 crore (26 to 97 km) of Barabal village -71 km up to Mardagi S Andola in Kalaburagi district
* Mardgi S Andola up to Baswantpur in Yadgir district – Tenders of 65.5 km were sought for Rs 1,606 crore (km 97 to 162.5)
* Baswantpur up to Singnodi in Raichur district – Tenders for 40.6 kms were called for Rs 1,169 crores (kms 162.5 to 203.1).
About Bharatmala Pariyojana
The Bharatmala project, India’s largest infrastructure programme, was conceived in 2017 to develop 34,800 km of national highway corridors connecting over 600 districts in the country. The program signaled a paradigm shift in the corridor’s approach to infrastructure development. It focuses on the development of 24,800 km of dedicated expressways, access-controlled economic corridors, and associated feeder routes, coastal and port connectivity, and border and international connectivity corridors. In addition, 10,000 km of ongoing NHDP projects are envisioned as part of the overall programme, covering a length of 34,800 km.
What is Greenfield Highway?
The Greenfield Expressway is designed to avoid inhabited areas and go through new alignments, bringing development to new areas and reducing land acquisition costs and construction timelines.
Hubli in Gadkari’s announcement
Highly placed sources in NHAI, Delhi said that Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari is expected to reach Hubballi in January and share more details of the project related to Karnataka.
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