HYDERABAD: The Municipal Administration Department has several new projects for Hyderabad in the pipeline. They include the construction of Elevated Bus Rapid Transit System (EBRTS) from KPHB to Kokapet, Hyderabad Metro Rail connectivity from Raidurg to International Airport under Phase-2, and the construction of 15 bridges across River Musi. They will be grounded in this financial year.
The department would also lay a 21-km cycle track on ORR with solar-covered roofing. It will be a 4.5-metre wide track between main carriageway and service road from Nanakramguda to TSPA and Narsingi to Kollur covered with solar panel rooftops along with entire stretch. The effective length when covered as a loop will be 42 km.According to Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD), K T Rama Rao, these projects were to have been grounded last year but for Covid-19 and a shortage of funds.
The Minister released the annual report of MAUD for 2021-22 along with MAUD Special Chief Secretary, Arvind Kumar and others here on Friday. Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that Telangana was among the top three urbanised states in the country after Tamil Nadu and Kerala. He urged the Centre to announce more Smart Cities and funds for the State. Karimnagar and Warangal are the only two cities that have been identified under the Smart City programme from Telangana. More cities in the state should be brought under the ambit of Smart City, he opined.
Pattana Pragathi
Under Pattana Pragathi programme, several citizen-oriented works were being used to provide basic amenities across the State. Setting up fecal sludge treatment plants, sanitation, biomining, veg and non-veg markets, Vaikuntadhamams, digital door numbering etc are being proposed under the 10-point agenda programme and majority of these works would be completed by March 2023. Under Pattana Pragathi, financial assistance of Rs 2,060 crore was extended to 142 ULBs, he added.
The State Government’s urban policies have transformed the urban landscape in the State. The total area under 142 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) constitutes less than three percent of the state’s land mass. But they contribute close to two-thirds of the State’s GDP. ‘’We are not competing with any other city in India. Our aim is to put Hyderabad among the top 30 cities in the world as far as quality of life and economic competitiveness is concerned. Hyderabad continues to be number one in purchasing power, safety, Healthcare, Cost of living, property price, traffic commute time, pollution, and climate indices’’ the Minister said.
The Minister recalled CEO of NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant saying recently that India was likely to have 50 per cent of its population in urban areas by 2050. However, Telangana is much ahead of this trend as it is poised to have 50 percent of its population in urban areas by 2025 itself.
GO 111 scrapping
On the issue of scrapping of GO 111, the Minister said that Hyderabad is no longer dependent on Osmansagar and Himayatsagar for drinking water supply. The GO 111 was nothing to do with floods. People living in 84 villages who are covered under the said order. They have been asking for its removal for several years, he said.Hyderabad has topped Mega Cities in the country with 48.66 sq.km of green cover in a decade as per the Forest Survey of India 2021.