CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has fallen behind its southern neighbours in the development of National High-Speed Corridors and Greenfield Expressways, with just 361 km of projects either completed or under construction compared to 893 km in Andhra Pradesh, 579 km in Karnataka, and 501 km in Telangana, according to data tabled in the Rajya Sabha.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said Tamil Nadu has completed only 161 km of high-speed corridors, while another 200 km is under implementation. Andhra Pradesh has 308 km operational and 585 km under construction, Karnataka has completed 314 km and is building another 265 km, while Telangana has 56 km operational and 445 km under implementation.
A senior National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) official said land acquisition remains the biggest hurdle for greenfield expressway projects and their execution depends heavily on support from the State government.
"Greenfield expressways involve large-scale land acquisition and can be executed only with the cooperation of the State government. The Chennai-Salem Expressway had to be shelved following strong opposition from farmers and political parties. We have proposals for a few more expressway projects in Tamil Nadu, including the Chennai-Tiruchy Expressway, which could later be extended up to Thoothukudi," the official said.
Across the country, 10,389 km of National High-Speed Corridors and Greenfield Expressways have either been completed or are under construction. Of this, 4,809 km has been opened to traffic, while work is in progress on the remaining 5,580 km.
Tamil Nadu's National Highway network spans 6,805 km. Among the major ongoing projects are the 106-km Tamil Nadu stretch of the Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway (NE-7), the 44-km four-laning of the Tiruvallur-Tamil Nadu/Andhra Pradesh border section of NH-716, the 28-km Walajapet/Ranipet-Tamil Nadu/Andhra Pradesh border section of NH-40, and the 46-km Marakkanam-Puducherry section of NH-332A. A 15-km Tiruvarur bypass on NH-83 is in the planning stage. The 116-km Chittoor-Thatchur Expressway also passes through Tamil Nadu for about 52 km.
Rajasthan tops the country with 1,340 km of completed and ongoing high-speed corridor projects, followed by Punjab (923 km), Andhra Pradesh (893 km), Uttar Pradesh (884 km), and Haryana (839 km), placing Tamil Nadu way behind several states of comparable size.
In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said the Centre periodically reviews the progress of National Highway projects, including high-speed corridors and greenfield expressways, at the project, State and central levels in coordination with State governments.
He said several measures have been taken to speed up execution, including streamlining land acquisition through the Bhoomirashi portal and GIS-based planning, expediting forest and environmental clearances through the revamped Parivesh portal, enabling online approvals for railway overbridges and underbridges, and resolving project bottlenecks in coordination with State governments and other stakeholders.