Any visitor to the abode of Lord Venkateswara not just feels the spiritual vibes, but also experiences the traffic snarls with hundreds of vehicles crisscrossing the crammed streets, trekking pilgrims outnumbering the local pedestrians, pilgrim-centric business houses making a killing and not to mention the suffocation with acrid smoke and dust-filled roads.
But, the temple town with the ever bulging floating population got a sense respite this year when it was selected for the ‘Smart City’ project.
But the selection was not done at random, but it earned its place by meeting the tough parameters put forth by the Centre. The Central Business District (CBD) or the core area is home to a barrage of activities with the presence of commercial, educational, cultural and religious centres, as well as residential areas.
This is precisely why this area, spread over 2,710 acres, is chosen for retrofitting. The area covered is bound by NTR Circle-Alipiri-Ramanuja Circle-Tiruchanur Road, besides portions of the newly-merged T.N.Palem, MR Palle and Rajiv Nagar Panchayat.
The option of developing 50 acres in the city, as was done in East Kidwai Nagar in Delhi, or creating a Greenfield city in 250 acres near Tirupati were shunned, as neither would serve the interests of the CBD.
Denizens’ feedback
The retrofit decision, indeed, has the public backing, as a whopping 66 p.c. of the denizens in their feedback plumped for it. “The idea is to make frugal investment and reap the maximum benefit,” says MCT Commissioner V. Vinaychand, who submitted the proposals for the second round recently.
The major makeover is converting the APSRTC central bus station into a world-class facility akin to Surat (Gujarat) by providing parking, window shopping and civic amenities. Secondly, parking lots will be improved in five areas -- APSRTC, Govindaraja temple, Tilak Road, Ramachandra Pushkarini and railway station areas, the last one being a multilevel parking lot.
To meet 10 p.c. energy needs, plans are afoot to build solar panels on 11.33 hectares of land, mostly on government and TTD buildings, besides the 10-acre compost yard in Thukivakam, to generate 11.3 MW hours of energy.
As many as 27,000 new water connections will be given in the retrofit area, while leakage and pilferage, which currently stands at 30 p.c., will be arrested through smart water metering.
To tap the 20 MLD of waste water discharged from the city, a recycling plant with Rs.35 crore using membrane technology will be set up under PPP to treat and sell the water (not potable) to bulk users.
Underground electric cables with Rs.325 crore will eliminate hanging wires and enhance carriageway. Sewage water monitoring will be made easier through GPS technology.
“A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) with a whopping Rs.1447 crore will be constituted soon to execute the project”, Mr. Vinaychand added.
While the Centre and State/MCT will chip in with Rs.500 crore each, plans are afoot to meet Rs.26 crore from Swacch Bharat, Rs.127 crore from AMRUT, Rs.150 crore from TTD (beautification of tanks), Rs.26 crore from MNRE (solar power). The city can expect to start reaping the ‘smart benefits’ soon.
RTC central bus
station to have
world-class facility
Parking lots in five areas
Solar panels in 11.33 ha.
to cater to 10 p.c.
of energy need
27,000 new
water connections
to be given
Smart water metering
to check losses
Underground
electric cables to
be laid at Rs. 325 cr.
Sewage water monitoring through GPS technology
