As the Congress government in Telangana completes a year in office, it’s unveiling a slew of development works and celebrating the occasion with the slogan ‘Telangana Rising’. Though it is yet to keep all its poll promises, it’s true that over the last 12 months, the government has taken a number of substantive steps including waiving farm loans and executing welfare schemes. But one thing that stands out is its focus on reshaping Hyderabad, the capital.
Its plans for the state’s crest jewel will define not only the rest of its tenure, but may also lay the foundation for a lasting legacy. The government has drawn up an action plan to structurally overhaul the city to make it sustainable in the long run. We believe this is the right step forward, given the changing climate and the urgent need to prevent Hyderabad from going the Mumbai or Delhi way. In a bid to preserve lakes—hundreds of which have been encroached over, causing flooding in the rainy season—the government has given top priority to preventing and demolishing unauthorised buildings and taken up the ambitious Musi riverfront development project. The river currently traverses a diverse region that is largely polluted. With a detailed report expected in 18 months, the government expects to clean up and develop it in six years. If everything goes as planned, it could be clean as the Godavari water that’s planned to be pumped in.
This is just one of the projects on the anvil. Seen alongside the protection of other lakes, cleaning of encroachments, introduction of 3,000 electric buses and eco-friendly development of a fourth city as well as Warangal, the face of Telangana will be very different in the near future. However, all these efforts must be institutionalised one way or another. For instance, Tamil Nadu has a green climate company and Maharashtra too has a council for climate change. Telangana could borrow a leaf out of Tamil Nadu’s book and establish a company with the sole mission of combating climate change. It also needs to ensure that in this entire exercise, the people are made aware of the details and, if in danger of displacement, they get fair compensation.