Nagpur–Warangal Greenfield Highway Targets December 2027 Completion as Land Acquisition Bottlenecks Ease

September 16, 2026

Telangana Roads & Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy told the Legislative Council on September 12, 2026, that the Nagpur–Mancherial–Warangal–Khammam–Vijayawada Greenfield Highway is targeted for completion by December 31, 2027. His update focused particularly on the Telangana stretch and the delayed Mancherial–Warangal packages, where most land-acquisition bottlenecks have now reportedly been resolved.

The central development here is not simply a completion date but what has changed to make that date credible: after years of delay driven by land acquisition disputes and litigation, the Telangana government says the bulk of land-related bottlenecks on the Mancherial-Warangal section have now been cleared, leaving only a small number of specific stretches still pending handover.

What is the Current Status of the Nagpur-Warangal Greenfield Highway?

The broader corridor under discussion is the 310-km Nagpur-Mancherial-Warangal-Khammam-Vijayawada Greenfield Highway, of which approximately 280 km falls within Telangana, spanning four to five districts. Within this corridor, the Mancherial-Warangal section, the stretch that has been the focus of the Minister's recent statements, has been divided into separate construction packages.

Letters of Award were issued on March 31, 2023, followed by the agreement on May 23, 2023. The project was originally scheduled for completion within 730 days. That timeline has since been extended, with completion now targeted for the end of 2027. The Minister attributed the delay to land acquisition issues, court cases, and other implementation challenges.

When Will the Highway Be Completed, and How Much Passes Through Telangana?

The Telangana government has assured that the highway will be completed and opened to the public by December 31, 2027. The 310-km corridor connects Nagpur in Maharashtra with Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, with approximately 280 km running through Telangana. However, the scope of this assurance should be stated precisely.

The Minister’s statement in the Telangana Legislative Council specifically addressed the Telangana section, including the Mancherial-Warangal construction packages, which are being coordinated by the state government and NHAI. It did not provide separate completion timelines for the sections in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, which are subject to different state and central coordination arrangements and were not covered in the Legislative Council exchange.

Why Was the Mancherial-Warangal Highway Project Delayed?

The gap between the original 730-day completion target set in May 2023 and the current December 2027 timeline reflects a familiar pattern in large greenfield highway execution: land acquisition problems and litigation over land-related disputes materially slowed construction progress across the Mancherial-Warangal packages.

Greenfield highway alignments, unlike upgrades to existing roads, require acquiring entirely new land corridors, which exposes projects to compensation disputes, ownership verification issues, and legal challenges that can each independently stall construction in the specific stretches affected, even while other packages along the same corridor continue to progress.

How Have Land Acquisition Issues Affected the Project, and How Much Land Handover is Still Pending?

According to the Minister, most land acquisition issues affecting the Mancherial-Warangal section have now been resolved, though land handover remains pending at a few specific locations, reported as stretches of approximately 1 to 1.3 km, and a separate section measuring about 5.7 km. These residual gaps, while numerically small relative to the section's total length, illustrate how even a handful of unresolved land parcels can hold up progress on an otherwise largely cleared corridor, because unresolved right-of-way gaps can interrupt construction continuity, restrict contractor access and delay completion of connected highway works.

The Minister also said affected farmers would receive compensation based on prevailing market rates. Under the project's institutional structure, land acquisition remains the responsibility of the Telangana state government, while construction is carried out under NHAI supervision, with the state government acting as the nodal agency coordinating between the two.

What Bottlenecks Remain, and What Are the Next Milestones?

With the bulk of land acquisition issues resolved, the project's next milestones are explicitly framed around closing the remaining gaps: handover of the outstanding land parcels, resolution of any pending legal or site-related obstacles at those specific locations, and continued package-wise construction under NHAI supervision across the Mancherial-Warangal section.

Separately, the Minister said the state government would direct NHAI to provide an additional exit near Parkal, to give local residents direct access to the highway, a request that reflects the kind of local connectivity adjustment that often emerges once a greenfield alignment's broader route is largely settled and attention shifts toward how communities along the corridor will actually use it.

How Does the Mancherial-Warangal Section Connect With the Nagpur-Vijayawada Corridor?

The Mancherial-Warangal section forms part of the broader Nagpur-Vijayawada economic corridor, connecting Telangana northward with Nagpur in Maharashtra and southeastward with Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh via Khammam. Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari reviewed the project’s progress on May 26, 2026, highlighting its importance for Telangana’s connectivity with Nagpur.

This reflects continued central government attention to the corridor alongside the land acquisition and construction work being managed by the Telangana government. The Mancherial-Warangal packages are the part of the corridor for which the state government has direct responsibility for land acquisition. Their progress and timeline should therefore be distinguished from development on the corridor’s sections in neighbouring states.

How Will the Highway Improve Industrial and Regional Connectivity in Telangana?

The greenfield corridor is intended to strengthen north-south and interstate road connectivity for Telangana by improving links toward Nagpur in Maharashtra and Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh through Mancherial, Warangal and Khammam. With around 280 km of the reported 310-km corridor passing through Telangana, its development can improve connectivity between several districts and provide a more direct route for interstate passenger and freight movement.

From an industrial perspective, improved highway connectivity can support more efficient movement between manufacturing centres, agricultural markets, logistics nodes and consumption centres along the corridor. The eventual benefits, however, will depend on completion of the relevant highway packages, interchange connectivity and integration with the surrounding road network.

A highway that was supposed to open within two years of its 2023 construction agreement is now targeting completion more than four years later, largely because of land acquisition delays and litigation on specific stretches. With most of those obstacles now reportedly resolved and land handover pending across only a few remaining stretches, progress over the coming months will indicate whether the Mancherial–Warangal packages can remain on track for the revised December 2027 target.

IMARC Engineering’s Perspective

The Nagpur-Warangal Greenfield Highway’s progress from a stalled, litigation-affected project toward a December 2027 completion target highlights how land acquisition can directly affect the pace of major greenfield highway projects.

At IMARC Engineering, we view the project’s prolonged delays, linked to land and legal disputes, as a reminder that land-acquisition planning, title verification, and early litigation-risk assessment should be treated as core project inputs.

With most reported land-acquisition issues resolved and only isolated stretches of about 1–1.3 km and 5.7 km still pending handover, one of the project's major execution constraints has narrowed. Timely land handover and coordination between the Telangana government and NHAI will nevertheless remain important to achieving the revised December 2027 target.