Hyderabad set for major infra push: Govt land deal with MoD today; skyway work from Paradise to Shamirpet, Dairy Farm Road to begin soon

HYDERABAD: The construction of two elevated corridors-from Paradise junction to Shamirpet and from Paradise to Dairy Farm Road along Medchal Road-is set to begin soon, with the state govt and the ministry of defence (MoD) set to sign a memorandum of understanding on Saturday.Although chief minister A Revanth Reddy laid the foundation stone for the projects in March last year, work was delayed as the state awaited formal transfer of defence land. The defence ministry had earlier given in-principle approval, and now the final land exchange agreement is being formalised.

The construction of the two skyways requires 160 acres of defence land. In exchange, the state has offered around 330 acres of state-owned land in Jawaharnagar and other locations-equivalent in value and suitable for defence needs, senior officials said. "The Paradise-Shamirpet corridor will need 114 acres of defence land and 78 acres of private land. The Paradise-Dairy Farm Road corridor requires 42 acres of defence land and 13 acres of private land, and the Shamirpet corridor passes through more defence-owned land than the Medchal route," officials said.Two underground tunnels are also part of the corridor designs-one near Begumpet airport and the other at Hakimpet airport.

The HMDA is conducting feasibility studies for these tunnels, which will together require 26 acres (one acre in Begumpet and 25 acres at Hakimpet).As part of the land acquisition, some existing defence structures will be impacted. To compensate, HMDA has begun construction of four underground water sumps in defence and cantonment areas, and finalised tenders for compound wall construction.For private land acquisition, the govt has already issued notifications, and negotiations are underway. Meanwhile, a survey by HMDA and the forest department has identified that over 10,000 trees will be affected. Of these, 3,200 trees will be cut down, while the rest will be translocated, officials said.