Ever since its formation, Telangana has broadly been on an upward development curve—albeit with a few bumps along the way. The state’s economic output has grown more than 70 percent over the decade of its existence (at constant prices). A large chunk of it has come from the services sector, which is concentrated in and around capital Hyderabad. It’s obvious that the state’s development has been unevenly distributed between its districts—which has translated into large income disparities between regions. To improve the balance, efforts have been made to develop other urban areas in the state, but progress on the front has been far from satisfactory.
Against this background, the state government’s decision to give a leg-up to Warangal is welcome. It has allocated `205 crore to build an airport at Mamnoor outside Warangal city—the second one in the state. That Telangana, one of the fastest growing states, has only one airport at a time when others including neighbouring Andhra Pradesh have more is a sad reflection. But, better late than never. A second airport will help the people as well as services and industrial development.
Though there have been proposals to develop airports at Adilabad, Ramagundam and Kothaudem too, the ideas have stayed on paper. The Warangal airport, which would be able to handle aircraft the size of the A320, has the potential to be a game-changer. Approval for the Kakatiya (Warangal) masterplan, which includes an outlay of a little over `4,000 crore for the city’s underground drainage, is another right step towards balanced development.
It must also be noted that intention is not action. The ongoing smart cities project is a case in point. Warangal and Karimnagar were selected for the project, but the works have been very slow. If the airport and the planned urban development are completed in about five years, the economic landscape of the state can be transformed. Also on the cards are industrial corridors between the Nehru Ring Road in Hyderabad and the upcoming Regional Ring Road, and the promotion of agriculture and allied sectors in areas beyond the Regional Ring Road. All these initiatives must land smoothly without controversies and corruption. Else, a decade on, we will still be writing about excellent proposals.