Telangana govt faces citizens’ anger over Hyderabad KBR flyover fiasco

GHMC Commissioner RV Karnan along with senior officials inspect the ongoing work on flyover at Jubilee Hills Checkpost in Hyderabad on Monday. | Photo credit: NAGARA GOPAL

The Telangana government has drawn heavy criticism from citizens after opposing road infrastructure near the Kasu Brahmananda Reddy (KBR) National Park in central Hyderabad.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has reversed its project to construct seven flyovers and seven underpasses around the park and has now approved one continuous unified elevated corridor from Jubilee Hills Check Station to NFCL Junction.

The construction was divided into two packages — from Jubilee Hills Check Post to Banjara Hills Road No. 2 and from there to Muffakhkam Jah College with a dedicated connecting ramp at Banjara Hills Road No. 1.

Fresh tenders will not be floated despite the change in proposal as the previous contractor had already done 50% of the work on the earlier proposal, GHMC officials said.

The approved cost of the project also remains unchanged at ₹1,090 million, but according to official claims, the design change resulted in savings of ₹1,200 million–₹800 million by drastically reducing the need to acquire high-value private land and ₹400 million in construction costs.

An aerial view of the ongoing flyover work at Jubilee Hills Check Post in Hyderabad on Monday. Car traffic is regulated as one-way to ensure smooth movement around the construction zone, barriers are installed for safety. | Photo credit: NAGARA GOPAL

The design of the project was changed after witnessing how the one-way traffic flow reduced congestion on the stretch, GHMC Commissioner RVKarnan said in a media interview after his inspection of the site on Monday.

After the GHMC Standing Committee approved the design change, social media was abuzz with strong backlash against the government’s informal approach to the project, leading to wastage of precious resources.

“How can the infrastructure design change so radically from roundabouts to straight? Even in a month? Have any traffic studies been done or is it a compensation project for the contractor after the original project was shelved,” city architect Shankar Narayan asked ‘X’.

“I wish there would be some shame left behind these bureaucrats and engineers. Investing in major infrastructure requires a study; an assessment of alternatives, an examination of the implications, a design and the possibility of public scrutiny. Has any of this been done? And how did you arrive at the price?” Prashanth Bachu, a strong advocate of sustainable transport, was fuming.

“And… how much did you say was already spent on the KBR mistake? Oh… you didn’t say anything about that. Why no details about the waste? Since it’s a new design… are the tenders being returned?” asked Uday Krishna of the Vata Foundation.

Civic group Save KBR, which has waged a bitter battle with the state government on and off the roads against the construction of flyovers, questioned the absence of a Detailed Project Report for the new project and recalled the damage caused by felling of age-old trees.

“If, as the government claims, the H-CITI project was designed after extensive traffic studies, why was the project abandoned and a new one designed? Who will be responsible for the money already spent on excavation work? Who will take responsibility for the felled trees and destroyed rocks?” posted by Natasha Ramarathnam, Green Activist.

GHMC officials blame the fiasco on the traffic police who reportedly delayed the one-way experiment by at least six months and agreed only when it was clear that the work would not go ahead unless the one-way was implemented.

“The delay has cost us a lot. Our hands are tied now because if we cancel the contract, it will result in legal problems,” the official said.

GHMC Commissioner RV Karnan along with senior officials inspecting the ongoing work on flyover at Jubilee Hills Checkpost in Hyderabad on Monday (October 5, 2026) and talking to the media | Video Credit: NAGARA GOPAL

Published – 05 Oct 2026 20:32 IST