HYDERABAD: Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has said he will take the responsibility of developing not only Hyderabad but also four other major cities _ Warangal, Karimnagar, Nizamabad and Khammam _ in the state.
Discussing the development of the four cities with Puvvada Ajay Kumar, Jalagam Venkat Rao and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, MLAs from Khammam, Kothagudem and Nalgonda respectively, at the Secretariat here on Tuesday, the chief minister said he would personally take the responsibility of developing the five cities which would be vital to the development of the state.
Emphasising the need for planned development of cities, Rao said the drainage system in the state capital was in a disarray. “Even a drizzle causes the drainage to overflow and at places like Raj Bhavan, Assembly and CM’s Camp Office rain water gets stagnated. Many nalas have been encroached and officials estimate that it will require anywhere around Rs 10,000 crore to set right the situation pertaining to drainage system in the city,” he explained.
Rao said some other cities in the state were also witnessing a rapid growth and a similar situation prevailed there. “Khammam has no underground drainage while the existing underground drainage system in Karimnagar and Nizamabad is not up to the mark,” he observed.
Calling for better infrastructure in the cities, he said comprehensive development should take place in Warangal, the next big city after Hyderabad in the state. Plans are afoot to provide drinking water to all the cities through Telangana State Water Grid.
He said he would visit all those four cities after the budget session of the Assembly to take stock of the problems and find ways and means of addressing them. Noting that Khammam city was expanding, he wanted the officials to plan accordingly. “Khammam city borders will now extend to Raghunathapalem, Konijerla, Wyra, Chintakani and other mandals. Nalgonda city is also expanding and needs better infrastructure.”
He said Kothagudem too would be developed on the lines of Ramagundam. The proposed 4,000 MW power project in the town would provide 10,000 more jobs, he said and wanted a better urban planning for Kothagudem. Rao assured the legislators that his main focus areas of urban development were ensuring 135 litres of water a day to every individual.
Cong MLAs’ Meet with CM Raises Eyebrows
The meeting of Congress MLAs Ajay Kumar and Venkat Reddy with K Chandrasekhar Rao has raised many eyebrows. The TRS is making all efforts to woo legislators of other parties to its fold and the meeting of the two MLAs is seen as another step in that direction. Already, the ruling party has managed to rope in a good number of opposition MLAs. Dismissing the speculation, Venkat Reddy said he had gone to meet the CM only to discuss the development of his constituency. “I am a staunch ideologue of Telangana and then Congressman. It has been just four months since the TRS came to power and it is too early to confront it,” he told reporters. He blamed the TDP and the Congress for the present power crisis in Telangana.