HYDERABAD: The Telangana government is drawing up ambitious plans to tackle one of Hyderabad’s biggest urban challenges, traffic congestion. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday said the government was working towards transforming Hyderabad into a ‘Traffic Free City’ through a combination of infrastructure projects and multi-modal transport systems.
Addressing a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Urban Affairs and Housing in Hyderabad, Revanth said the government was considering several measures, including the construction of underpasses, surface roads and an elevated corridor network to streamline traffic movement across the city. The plans also include the development of multi-level parking facilities and multi-modal transport systems aimed at easing pressure on Hyderabad’s roads.
Highlighting the scale of the challenge, Revanth said merely widening roads would not be enough to resolve Hyderabad’s traffic problems. Instead, he stressed the need for an integrated and multi-modal transportation approach.
The chief minister informed the standing committee that the government was constructing multi-level parking facilities in different parts of the city as part of efforts to address congestion. “We are striving to transform Hyderabad into a traffic-free city. In key areas, we have adopted a multi-pronged strategy to facilitate smoother traffic flow through underpasses, surface roads, and elevated corridors,” he said.
During the meeting, Revanth presented a detailed overview of the challenges Hyderabad and Telangana could face in the coming years due to rapid urbanisation and modernisation, along with the measures being undertaken by the government to address them.
He also outlined the government’s broader vision for Telangana’s development through a three-zone model categorised as CURE, PURE and RARE.
According to the proposed framework, the area within the Outer Ring Road, identified as the Core Urban Region Economy (CURE), would be developed as a hub for the service sector. The region between the Outer Ring Road and the Regional Ring Road, termed the Peri-Urban Region Economy (PURE), would be promoted as a manufacturing hub.
Areas beyond the Regional Ring Road, designated as the Rural Agriculture Region Economy (RARE), would focus on agriculture and allied sectors, Revanth informed the standing committee.
The chief minister also spoke about the government’s ‘Telangana Rising 2047’ master plan, which has been designed for the comprehensive development of the state. He briefed the committee on measures being taken to tackle air pollution in Hyderabad and explained the plans for the Musi riverfront development project aimed at conserving nature while preserving the city’s cultural fabric.
As part of pollution control measures, Revanth said the government had introduced EV buses and was planning to retrofit existing auto-rickshaws operating within the Core Urban Region and convert them into electric vehicles free of cost.
Officials later gave a PowerPoint presentation to the Standing Committee on the government’s plans related to Hyderabad’s drinking water supply, the rejuvenation of the Musi River and other major infrastructure projects.
Revanth appealed to the committee to seek cooperation from the Union government to further accelerate Hyderabad’s development.
Responding to the presentation, the chairperson and members of the committee described the Musi River Rejuvenation Project as a revolutionary initiative. They said the project, aimed at improving the living standards of Hyderabad residents, was the first of its kind in the country.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Revanth presented copies of the ‘Telangana Rising - 2047’ Vision Document to the committee members. He said the document had been prepared with the goal of transforming Telangana into an economic powerhouse with a $1 trillion economy by 2034 and a $3 trillion economy by 2047.