Hyderabad: For the first time, the state budget allocated a staggering amount of Rs 10,000 crore for the capital city of Hyderabad, a region that proved to be a fortress of BRS, a position the Congress could not breach in the last year's assembly polls despite coming to power.
Months after the assembly polls, the BJP secured the majority of seats in the Greater Hyderabad region in the Lok Sabha elections. Hyderabad is also central to Telangana's growth.
Deputy chief minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka proposed the Telangana Core Urban Region (TCUR) in the state budget on Thursday, which encompasses districts under the Outer Ring Road (ORR) jurisdiction.
The TCUR covers almost 48 percent of Telangana's total population and may allow the current government to take a targeted approach to development and woo voters. The Rs 10,000 crore allocation includes Rs 3065 crore to GHMC, Rs 500 crore to HMDA, and Rs 3385 crore to Metro Water Works.
Apart from these, the budget also proposed Rs 200 crores for HYDRAA, Rs 100 crores for Metro to Airport, Rs 200 crores for ORR, Rs 500 crores for Hyderabad Metro Rail, Rs 500 crores for Metro to Old City, Rs 50 crores for MMTS, and Rs 1500 crores for the Musi Riverfront project.
“The onset of monsoons creates havoc in the city, and life comes to a standstill. Projects made without foresight and the proliferation of illegal construction had a negative impact on the city’s development. Thousands of crores of rupees have accrued to the government through the sale of valuable land in and around Hyderabad. However, the funds were not spent for the improvement of Hyderabad City,” said Vikramarka while presenting the budget.
5 extended metro corridors
In the budget, the government also proposed to develop 78.4 km of five extended metro rail corridors with an outlay of Rs 24, 042 crore. As part of this project, Metro will be extended to the Old City and further connected to Shamshabad Airport. Similarly, the present corridors from Nagole to LB Nagar will be extended. It is also proposed to develop Nagole, LB Nagar, and Chandrayanagutta stations as interchange stations. The government is also planning to extend the Metro facility from Miyapur to Patancheru and LB Nagar to Hayathnagar.
Musi river front development
The budget also proposed and highlighted the Musi Riverfront development project as one of the main priorities of the Congress government. As part of this project, it is proposed to revive the ecosystem around the Musi River. It aims to improve 110 km2 of urban area. “Through the Musi Riverfront Development Project, we can effectively solve the complex problems encountered in water management. Infrastructure facilities can be improved in an environment-friendly manner. The state finance minister stated that this project will develop recreation zones, public plazas, children's theme parks, and entertainment zones.
The government had already conducted a socioeconomic/enjoyment survey with 33 revenue department teams. The development of Musi will be done along the lines of the Thames Riverfront Project in London. This project will be a milestone in Hyderabad's history, and its model will be suitable for replication across the country, he added.
Construction of the Regional Ring Road
The budget allocated around Rs. 1,525 crore for the construction of the Regional Ring Road (RRR). During the budget speech, Vikramarka said that the Outer Ring Road (ORR) is like a precious jewel around Hyderabad. Outer Ring Roads connect various places around Hyderabad, resulting in rapid city growth and development. Such results need to be replicated in other parts of the state, which can be achieved through the construction of the Regional Ring Road.
“We propose to upgrade the 158.6 km northern road from Sanga Reddy-Toopran-Gajwel Choutuppal and the 189 km southern road from Choutuppal-Shadhnagar-Sanga Reddy to facilitate their declaration as national highways. RRR will be constructed with the standards of expressway. The land acquisition process for this project is already in progress. We will initially construct it as a four-lane highway, and as traffic increases, we will extend it to eight lines. The region between ORR and RRR will attract industries, services, and transport parks,” he said.
According to initial estimates, the northern part of RRR will cost Rs 13,522 crore, while the southern part will cost Rs 12,980 crore. In this budget, we have proposed Rs. 1,525 crore for the Regional Ring Road.
KCR's maiden visit to the Assembly as Leader of Opposition
BRS chief K Chandrashekar Rao on Thursday attended the Telangana assembly sessions for the first time as Leader of Opposition. Until now, KCR stayed away from assembly sessions for a variety of reasons, including a freak mishap in which he suffered a hip injury after last year's assembly polls. After surgery and recovery, he actively participated in the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls. Now he is back in the Assembly. Commenting on the budget, KCR said it is hollow.
He said that the budget has dashed the hopes of the people. He also noted the imposition of several restrictions on the Rythu Bandhu scheme and the absence of any mention of the Dalit Bandhu scheme in the budget.