The year 2012 heads towards a rather distressing close for the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) as the cash-strapped urban development body grapples with empty coffers and carries several unfulfilled project deadlines into the New Year.
In a way the year-end has a distinct sense of déjà vu for the authority. It closed the year 2011 with bank accounts frozen by the Income Tax Department and struggling hard to manage staff salaries. The freeze orders were relaxed in January 2012 but came back to haunt it again this month.
Accounts attached
The Income Tax Department has attached all the HMDA accounts seeking due taxes for amounts that were raised through land auctions and transferred to the government treasury few years ago.
It is not only empty coffers, but the burden of delayed projects is what the urban development body takes into the year 2013. The Road over Bridge (RoB) at Hitec City has crawled across several extended deadlines and revised budget estimates.
Yet, the facility could not be completed this year even as commuters continue to face appalling traffic conditions on the stretch.
Though the 11.8 km-long PVNR Expressway, country’s longest such facility, was readied more than two years ago, the HMDA even this year could not complete the ramp works.
Six ramps were proposed to join the expressway at different points but so far only three have been completed and opened for traffic.
The year saw the Outer Ring Road (ORR) 38 km-long stretch between Patancheru and Shamirpet completed and opened for traffic, though lagging behind schedule, in December first week.
With this, the 158 km-long prestigious project has actually accumulated 124 kilometres and the pending work is expected to be completed by 2013 end.
Hussainsagar cleaning work has been another HMDA project which had been dragging for years and 2012 saw some major progress taking place on this front. Some of the STPs for it have been set up, few Interception and Diversion (I&D) structures are ready and the authority went ahead to involve citizens in the project with the launch of Forum for a Clean Hussainsagar.
The positive aspect this year for HMDA happened to be the successful auction of plots in different parts of the city. Having placed plots from different locations in and around the city including the 4.695 acre site at Nandagiri Hills for auction, it looks to raise around Rs.125 crore.
Proposals
Interestingly, the HMDA which completed work on a flyover across river Musi near Bapu Ghat early in the year had a formal inauguration by Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy towards the year-end!
If all goes well, several of its proposals look poised to move ahead next year and they include Science City, Hyderabad Habitat Centre apart from Inter City Bus Terminal (ICBT) at Miyapur.
Proposals on the Logistic Parks that have been pending for couple of years also look to fructify in 2013.
