The GHMC's Telugu Desam wing has sought the intervention of Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy in ensuring that the civic body sticks to the main function of providing and improving basic civic amenities like roads, drains, street lighting and sanitation.
In a communication to Mr. Reddy and also to the Minister for Municipal Administration M. Mahipal Reddy, Mayor Majid Hussain and GHMC Commissioner M. T. Krishna Babu, party floor leader Singireddy Srinivas Reddy and his fellow corporators, strongly opposed the commitment of Rs.493 crore – or 16 per cent of the draft budget released recently, for taking up construction of houses for the poor in the forthcoming financial year.
They pointed out that construction of houses for the poor under various schemes was the mandate of the Revenue Department in the district collectorates with direct budgetary provisions from the government. However, in the twin cities, the municipal corporation was being saddled with the additional responsibility of housing sector too when the financial constraints are cutting deep.
“GHMC is building houses while Collectors of Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy are allotting them to beneficiaries with no inputs from the corporator concerned,” Mr. Reddy complained. He sought to know why the civic body should take up the role when it was not even mandated in the Act.
100-days programme
Rather than provide allocations to GHMC in the form of fixed percentage of funds from the motor vehicle tax, profession tax and others, the government was making it to spend for works being taken up in the 100-days programme too.
The TD urged the Chief Minister to provide a one time grant of Rs.6,000 crore for improving civic infrastructure with emphasis on providing basic amenities in the suburban colonies which continue to lack them.
