HYDERABAD: Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development KT Rama Rao released a coffee-table book, titled ‘HMDA Brings to Life Greenery, Lakes, Art and More in Hyderabad’, here on Wednesday. The coffee-table book captures the greening along the city’s Outer Ring Road stretch.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said the state has witnessed unprecedented growth on all fronts since its formation in 2014. “Hyderabad Urban Agglomeration (HUA) in the last few years has become the engine of economic growth due to the state’s citizen-friendly and pro-investors policies, be it TS-bPASS, 24/7 uninterrupted power supply, ease of doing business, TS-iPASS, affordable lifestyle and a welcoming ambience, to name a few, making Hyderabad the most favoured destination in the country,” the Minister said.
He also praised the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority for bringing out the coffee-table book. “We have made a conscious effort to increase the green cover throughout the state and the efforts initiated by HMDA on the ORR, its various intersections, adoption of lakes for their protection and taking up plantation along highways are laudable,” the Minister said.
In his message, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao mentions that increasing green cover has been one of the priorities of the state government.
“In order to set up an institutional mandate, specific provisions have been made in the Telangana Panchayat Act as well as the Telangana Municipal Act 2019 which mandates allocation of 10 per cent of the budget of the local bodies towards green budget. The net green cover has increased exponentially. Green cover and protection of water bodies are an integral part of urbanisation and HMDA has played an important role in this regard,” the Chief Minister writes. MAUD Special Chief Secretary Arvind Kumar and Mayor G Vijayalaxmi were also present on the occasion.