Hopes of the Quli Qutb Shah Urban Development Authority (QQSUDA) to come out of red have been dashed yet again. Under the recent budget it has got a measly Rs.19 crore, same as the previous year. It is a big climb down considering the budgetary proposals of Rs.101 crore submitted by QQSUDA for the year 2012-13.
The Rs.15 crore earmarked under non-plan is barely sufficient to take up works in the Old City spread over 12 Assembly constituencies of Charminar, Bahadurpura, Yakutpura, Chandrayangutta, Malakpet, Goshamahal, Karwan, Nampally, Jubilee Hills and parts of Rajendranagar, Maheshwaram and L.B. Nagar.
In fact the non-plan budget was just Rs.5 crore up to 2009-10. It was only on the intervention of the MIM that it was raised to Rs.15 crore. But even this is hardly sufficient considering the huge mandate it is given.
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“We will take up emergency supplementary works”, says R.Kishore Babu, QQSUDA administrator, trying to hide his disappointment.
As it is QQSUDA is saddled with mounting dues of Rs.6 crore towards contractors bills. The Rs.4 crore under plan budget is just sufficient to meet salaries, maintenance and establishment charges. There is tremendous pressure from the Majlis legislators to execute works but the QQSUDA is in a piquant situation. It can't think of taking up any fresh works without first clearing the contractors bills.
In the absence of sufficient budget the QQSUDA is reduced to playing a second fiddle to the GHMC, HMDA and Water Board.
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It is forced to take up small works within its limited budget when it is tasked with creating infrastructure such as sewerage, CC roads, community halls, boundary walls, school buildings, bore wells, etc.
Right from its inception in 1981, QQSUDA is starved of funds. Officials admit that the agency had become redundant as other civic bodies such as GHMC and Water Board with huge budgets are taking up works in the old city.
The QQSUDA has a general body, which has not met so far. Its managing committee headed by the Municipal Administration Minister is supposed to meet once in three months. But the last time it met was in June 2011.
Why don't the government wind up this namesake agency? This requires a resolution from the general body. And this is not possible as the general body is not constituted so far.