HYDERABAD: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is one of the biggest encroachers of footpaths in the city, confessed GHMC Commissioner, DS Lokesh Kumar. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Lokesh Kumar said public toilets, bus shelters, Annapurna meal centres and other public structures built on footpaths are causing inconvenience to pedestrians.
The commissioner said that the civic body will avoid constructing these structures on footpaths to make them more pedestrian-friendly. “As per the instructions of the Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD), KT Rama Rao, who is keen on making footpaths more pedestrian-friendly, GHMC will avoid constructing such structures on footpaths in the future,” said Lokesh Kumar.
The GHMC will explore the possibility of shifting the existing structures on the footpaths to places that will not inconvenience pedestrians, he said.
As part of the civic body’s plans to better footpaths in the city, Zonal Commissioners have been asked to lay at least 10 km of footpaths in their respective zone during this financial year. The GHMC has earmarked Rs 75 crore for the same. The ZCs have been asked to prepare a list of commercial streets and identify 10 to 15 such road stretches to lay footpaths. The traffic police, Town Planning staff and other stakeholders will be roped in to develop a proper footpath for each stretch.
The commissioner said that tenders for constructing 54-foot overbridges (FoBs) in the city have been finalised and work would start soon. The FoBs will be constructed by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA). Further, GHMC will construct pubic toilets in all the 3,000 parks in the city under the public-private partnership (PPP).
The civic body has also proposed to construct 1,500 public toilets in different parts of the city. Detailed project reports (DPRs) for 35 link roads/slip roads are ready and work on the same will start soon. The GHMC will soon receive a Rs 2,500-crore loan from three banks. The money will be used to construct grade separators, flyovers, underpasses, land acquisition and other developmental works, the commissioner added.