With its jurisdiction and population considerably increased with the merger of 35 gram panchayats (GPs), the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has initiated steps to take an inventory of the existing amenities and infrastructure in the new areas.
Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Commissioner M.T. Krishna Babu held a detailed meeting with senior officials and deliberated on the key issues in the newly-incorporated areas. The civic body will now have an additional 297.14 sq km of area and a population of 4,38,755 under its belt.
“The meeting with the Commissioner sought to list out issues that need immediate action. It was decided that initially the focus should be on water supply, sanitation and electricity,” a senior official said. Other infrastructure issues such as sewerage networks, roads, connectivity and others would be covered over a period of time. Municipal officials said the meeting had also decided to continue with all the ongoing works in these 35 GPs. The present staff would also continue, but would henceforth function under the GHMC.
“The existing system has to continue. We have decided on the changes that are immediately required and those that can be initiated in a time-bound fashion, without disrupting current development works,” an official said.
Road conditions, drainage network, water bodies, encroachments and other issues have to be studied and recorded so as to make suitable development plans for the new areas. “We have to ensure that they are also in sync with the [other] GHMC areas,” pointed out Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Engineer-in-Chief, R. Dhan Singh.
