Rome is not built in a day: KTR

Global cities are not built overnight, and it will take about seven to eight years to make Hyderabad one, Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) K.T.Rama Rao said, addressing the State Assembly here on Tuesday.

Municipal administration is a non-glamorous job, and in the past, there have been only cosmetic improvements without deeper analysis or action plan. However, Telangana government is determined to improve the city on all fronts, and proof of the development was in the overwhelming majority TRS got in GHMC elections, Mr.Rama Rao maintained, during a short discussion on developmental activities in GHMC.

In the short note circulated earlier, he elaborated on various programmes including water supply, sewerage, sanitation, Metro Rail, road development and others. The discussion began with member T.Rammohan Reddy reading out from the TRS election manifesto and questioning how many of the promises have been fulfilled, with BJP member G.Kishan Reddy in tow reeling out the government’s announcements about building towers around Hussain Sagar and emptying the polluted water of the lake.

Komatireddy Venkat Reddy questioned the demolition of illegal structures occupied by hapless residents in Nizampet even while allowing structures like N-Convention to exist in FTL of a lake. Mr. Kishan Reddy raised questions also about repeated digging of roads, and construction rubble being left on roads. Unless there is an overhaul of GHMC, all plans will remain on paper, he affirmed.

R. Krishnaiah from TDP spoke against the government’s decision to penalise graffiti on walls, and about harassment faced by footpath vendors. He also asked for devolution of funds to City Central Library. MIM member Ahmed Bin Abdullah Balala and Sunnam Rajaiah from CPI(M) raised concerns about sanitation, desilting of nalas and equitable development. Mr. Rama Rao assured the House that the government was going ahead in a planned way, and claimed 24-hour power supply and preventing water wars during peak summer as major achievements of the government. Maintenance of law and order has assured safety and attracted many investors here, he said.

Mr.Rama Rao said the government will take up 24-hour water supply in a few select divisions on an experimental basis, and expand it to the whole city later.

The government will, as a policy, make the road restoration tenders mandatory for taking up any digging works, he announced. The police command control centre, once operational, will act as the surveillance arm to many departments, and will help to penalise violators in various sectors. Mr.Rama Rao also spoke about a Street Vendor Act to demarcate hawking zones. Drinking water supply to the 12 peripheral municipalities will be completed by February, 2018, and the Metro Rail project, which he admitted, got delayed due to state bifurcation process, will be completed by the end of next year.