Hyderabad, August 7: Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy has directed Mines department officials not to harass genuine road contractors over permissions required for sourcing sand, soil, metal and other construction materials.
Komatireddy, along with Mines and Geology Minister Dr. G. Vivek Venkataswamy, reviewed the issues faced by road contractors at the Secretariat on Friday. Contractors alleged that excessive penalties were being imposed on small contractors executing government road projects.
The Ministers observed that imposing penalties up to 10 times the value of the material was not justified. Komatireddy questioned the imposition of a ₹54-crore penalty over a ₹5-crore issue, stating that contractors were making payments as stipulated in their agreements.
The R&B Minister also urged Minister Vivek Venkataswamy to take action against the official allegedly responsible for circumstances that led to the death of contractor Srinivas Reddy.
Komatireddy said sand, soil and metal were essential for road construction and stressed that genuine contractors should not face coercive action while illegal mining activities go unchecked.
He said Telangana had taken up Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) road projects under the leadership of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, with the aim of developing high-quality roads across the State. The government has set a target to complete the HAM road works by August 2028.
Responding to the concerns, Minister Vivek Venkataswamy directed Mines department officials to take appropriate action on the issues raised by the contractors.