HYDERABAD: Hussainsagar and its surrounding landmarks, including NTR Gardens, Lumbini Park, Necklace Road and People’s Plaza, are set for a major makeover, with the Buddha Purnima Project (BPP), a wing of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), preparing a master plan to transform the area into a world-class recreational destination.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, HMDA Urban Forestry Director G Rohit Reddy said the redevelopment would cover key attractions including Lumbini Park, Laserium, the Ambedkar Statue, Martyrs’ Memorial, NTR Memorial, Sanjeevaiah Park, PVNR Marg (Necklace Road), Lake View Park and People’s Plaza. He said the project aims to unlock the area’s commercial, recreational and urban landscape potential by adopting climate-conscious planning and modern urban design concepts.
Highlighting HMDA’s urban forestry initiatives, Rohit said 213 urban parks are planned across the Core Urban Region. Of the 23 major colony parks identified, 18 have been completed and work is under way on the remaining five.
During 2025-26, HMDA planted 20.25 lakh saplings across 26 Urban Reserve Forest blocks and plans to develop additional reserve forests. It has also raised 4.25 crore saplings across 42 nurseries. He said 1,520 of the 4,230 trees falling along the proposed Paradise-Dairy Farm Road (NH-44) and Paradise-Shamirpet ORR elevated corridors have already been translocated.
HMDA also plans to use treated water from Coca-Cola’s bottling plant to irrigate plantations along the ORR through a network of 20 storage sumps. To encourage private participation, six urban parks have been entrusted to corporate firms, resulting in savings of Rs 5.79 crore for HMDA. The parks include Panchatatva Park at Narsingi, Golden Mile Layout Park at Kokapet, YSR Colony Park, Bathukamma Park, First Field Park and Alkapur Park-2 in Manikonda.