HYDERABAD: To ease the traffic congestion and ensure a hassle-free vehicular movement, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) is going to develop new link roads and slip roads across the city. For this purpose, it will engage the services of additional urban planners -- including both planning graduates and retired officials of the National Institute of Urban Management (NIUM) -- as part of the ongoing works to prepare Local Area Plans (LAPs). It may be recalled that these plans will focus on extending integrated road network and improvement of infrastructure facilities to the citizens, apart from develop new link roads and slip roads.
The move comes after the MAUD Minister K T Rama Rao had recently instructed the officials to mull on the development of slip roads and link roads across Hyderabad on a war footing, in a bid to reduce the rampant traffic congestion.
A few days ago, the minister, along with GHMC officials, also identified some locations with missing slip roads and link roads in the IT corridor. During the course of the discussion, he directed the officials to identify more such locations across the city where there was a need for developing new roads.
It was KTR’s suggestion to include the process of building link roads and slip roads into the larger project LAPs. The GHMC will now avail the services of additional planners, comprising of 8 to 10 planning graduates and a few retired NIUM officials, on an outsourcing basis. The additional hands will assist the GHMC Chief City Planner (CCP), S Devender Reddy, in preparation of the LAPs and in identification and development of new link roads and slip roads.
GHMC has also addressed a letter to the Director General of NIUM requesting to provide the services of additional urban planners for the identification of slip roads and link roads, the remuneration of which would be incurred by the GHMC. Last week, NIUM addressed another letter deploying the services of at least four research associates, with the proposed remuneration of `1.80 lakh per month -- amounting to `45,000 per person -- for the same. Meanwhile, the GHMC Standing Committee has also accorded the approval to engage the services of additional urban planners, as proposed by the NIUM.
It may be noted that the LAPs are aimed at developing an integrated road network and improving the infrastructure facilities for Hyderabad citizens. While the NIUM is engaging urban planners to design services for various organisations under Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) department.