Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday wrote to Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu wanting Hyderabad to be replaced by Karimnagar in the “Smart Cities” project and instead the Centre should give additional funds to Hyderabad in tune with its standing as an A-1 city.
He made out a strong case for Karimnagar as it was a fast-growing city which would shortly enter the tier-II cities of the country. The town presently had a population of three lakh and enjoyed geographical importance since it was strategically located in the heart of north Telangana.
The letter of Mr. Rao was a follow-up on a resolution of the high-powered steering committee chaired by Chief Secretary Rajiv Sharma on December 10 which wanted devising a scheme for significant funding to expanding A-1 cities like Hyderabad to revamp their infrastructure needs, especially water supply, drainage, transportation and solid waste management.
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The funding under Smart City mission was, however, not commensurate with required investments in core sectors.
The resolution which was conveyed to the Ministry of Urban Development by Director of Municipal Administration M. Dana Kishore sought consideration of the State government for inclusion of Karimnagar as a potential Smart City in place of Hyderabad and extend the date of submission of proposal by Karimnagar municipal corporation to January 15.
TRS MP of Karimnagar B. Vinod Kumar also addressed a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi echoing the Chief Minister’s wish that New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad be treated as ‘Smart Metros’ rather than Smart Cities and allotted Rs 1,000 crore each per year to meet their special needs.
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Mr. Rao, in his letter to Mr. Naidu, recalled the deliberations of the high-powered steering committee which noted that a committee headed by economist Isher Judge Ahluwalia had estimated for Hyderabad a requirement of Rs 30,370 crore in core services. This was apart from Rs 1,264 crore per year for operation and maintenance cost.
The Chief Minister writes to Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, seeking additional funding for the capital as ‘Smart Metro’