Hyderabad, Dec 17 (IANS) Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday urged the central government to provide special funds for development of Hyderabad.
Stating that Rs.100 crore to be allocated to the city every year under the central government's ambitious Smart Cities Mission is grossly inadequate for infrastructure development, he demanded that Hyderabad be dropped from the list of smart cities and Karimnagar be included in its place.
In a letter to union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu, the chief minister said Hyderabad is developing at a rapid pace like metro cities such as Mumbai, and pointed out that the city has expanded to 625 square kms and is already in the A1 category.
KCR, as Rao is popularly known, said instead of selecting Hyderabad under Smart Cities project, it should be provided special funds keeping in view its requirements.
In 2011, the Isher Judge Ahluwalia committee appointed by union urban development ministry had said that in key sectors, Hyderabad required Rs.30,370 crore investment. For drinking water and sewerage alone, it requires Rs.15,000 crore. Another Rs.20,661 crore is needed for strategic road development project to provide signal free roads, junction improvement and construction of bridges.
KCR wrote that for a city like Hyderabad whose municipal corporation has an annual budget of Rs.5,500 crore, the money to be given under Smart Cities project is not worth mentioning.
Stating that 50 percent of families in Hyderabad have no drainage facility, the chief minister said there was also requirement for laying new water and drainage lines. He said the central government should design new projects to meet the requirements of Hyderabad, which is getting global recognition and making a mark in economic development.
Hyderabad and Warangal are the two cities from Telangana that were included in the list of 100 smart cities by the central government.
KCR said Karimnagar located in the heart of north Telangana has a population of about three lakh and is likely to soon become a tier II city, and if it is included in smart cities project, this will pave way for its planned development.
