HYDERABAD: There was a marginal increase in the allocations to the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) Department for the development of the State capital in the Budget 2023-24, which was presented in the State Assembly by Finance Minister T Harish Rao on Monday.
Experts said that while 70% of the State revenue comes from the Greater Hyderabad region, the State government failed to make any substantial allocations for the city in the Budget.
In his address, Harish Rao mentioned that the government had focused on the provision of basic amenities in urban areas. Under the Pattana Pragathi initiative, Rs 3,855 crore has been made available to municipal corporations including Hyderabad till now, he said, adding that sanitation, greenery and public services are being improved and being made available through this scheme.
While the Hyderabad Road Development Corporation Limited (HRDCL), which was established to build and manage link roads in different parts of the city, wasn’t even mentioned in the Budget, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), which had submitted proposals for various developmental works, wasn’t allocated any funds for major projects. The civic body will only receive funds — Rs 10 crore towards property tax on government properties in the city, Rs 10 crore as compensation towards professional tax and Rs 10 lakh towards motor vehicles tax — for the outstanding dues. It must be noted that the State government’s flagship initiatives, Strategic Road Development Plan (SRDP), Strategic Nala Development Program (SNDP) and other ongoing projects, are being carried out with the help of financial institutions. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) only received Rs 10 lakh for taking up different works and another Rs 200 crore for payments of loans for the Outer Ring Road (ORR).
However, the silver lining for the MAUD Department in the Budget was the allocation of Rs 1960.70 crore to the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) and Rs 2,000 crore to the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL).
For the Water Board, the government has earmarked Rs 635 crore towards payment of loans for different water and sewerage projects, Rs 300 crore to take up works, Rs 725 crore for the completion of the Sunkishala Intake Well Project and Rs 300 crore towards reimbursement amount for the 20 KL free water supply scheme. As much as Rs 200 crore has also been earmarked for the Musi Riverfront Development Project. It must be noted that the HMWS&SB has also taken up a project to construct sewerage treatment plants (STP).
Airport metro connectivity
The airport metro project has been proposed to help flyers from different areas of the city reach the airport in the shortest possible time.
For the HMRL, the State government has allocated Rs 500 crore for the Hyderabad Airport connectivity project, Rs 500 crore for metro rail connectivity to Old City and Rs 1,500 crore for payment of loans.
Harish said the number of air travellers using the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad has been increasing with each passing day. The expansion of the airport, at a cost of Rs 7,500 crore, has been taken up to cater to travellers even if air traffic goes up to 4 crore per annum. The works are expected to be completed by June this year.
The metro lane will commence from Raidurg and terminate at Shamshabad airport covering a distance of 31 km. Recently, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao laid the foundation for metro connectivity to the airport.