BJP questions State govt. authority to name NH corridor

The BJP on Tuesday strongly opposed the State government’s decision to name the Uppal–Narapally elevated corridor as ‘Bandari Raj Reddy Corridor’, after the former MLA and chairman of the Kapra Municipal Corporation, stating that the move was not legally valid.

Party vice-president and former MLA N.V.S.S. Prabhakar alleged that the State government has no authority to name the corridor as it is part of National Highway 163, stretching from Hyderabad to Bhupalapally, and is maintained by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH).

He cited an official communication from MoRTH executive engineer Rakesh Meena, which stated that the authority to name any stretch of a national highway or bridge rests solely with the Union ministry. The communication further noted that despite persistent demands from various quarters to name national highway stretches or bridges after political leaders or prominent local figures, the Centre generally does not consider such proposals desirable.

The letter also directed that the information be conveyed to the Malkajgiri Municipal Corporation Commissioner for appropriate action. Mr. Prabhakar pointed out that the State government had issued an official order a few days ago approving the naming of the corridor following a representation from the commissioner concerned and the approval of the standing committee.

In a separate press conference at the BJP State office, Deputy Floor Leader and Adilabad MLA Payal Shankar accused the Congress government of ignoring the interests of farmers and weaker sections by refusing to allow a discussion on schemes and grants meant for them during the recent Assembly session.

He said that continually blaming the previous BRS government for the failures of the present Congress administration was unacceptable, adding that the people of Telangana had taken note of it. He also accused the government of failing to take action against AIMIM MLAs for “insulting” national song Vande Mataram.