Telangana Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka proposed Rs 10,000 crore for the development of Hyderabad in the state budget for 2024-25 presented in the Assembly on Thursday.
Stating that Hyderabad is central to the growth of Telangana, he said the integrated growth of Hyderabad would enable the government to mobilise huge resources for the development of the state.
Claiming that such a huge allocation was never proposed for the development of Hyderabad, Vikramarka said the areas on the outskirts of Hyderabad have the potential to develop into self-sustainable areas.
“It will reduce the pressure on civic bodies. It is our aim to promote the development of satellite townships around Hyderabad. We will encourage the construction of affordable houses at reasonable rates. We will plan and strive to provide all kinds of amenities in these townships viz: parks, community halls, commercial centres, schools etc,” he said.
The minister also proposed Rs 1,525 crore for Regional Ring Road (RRR) which will connect Hyderabad to other parts of the state. The northern road from Sangareddy-Toopran-Gajwel-Choutuppal is 158.6 km long and the southern side, it is 189 km from Choutuppal-Shadhnagar-Sangareddy and both are proposed to be upgraded to facilitate their declaration as national highways. RRR will be constructed with the standards of an expressway. The land acquisition process for this project is already in progress. It will be initially constructed as a four-lane highway and will be extended to 8 lanes commensurate with the increase in traffic.
The region between ORR and RRR will attract industries, services and transport parks. As per initial estimates, the northern part of RRR will cost Rs 13,522 crore and the southern part will cost Rs 12,980 crore.
The budget proposed Rs 3,065 crore to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Rs 500 crore to the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) and Rs 3,385 crore to the Metro Water Works.
The Deputy CM also proposed Rs 200 crore for the newly-created HYDRAA (Hyderabad Disaster Relief and Asset Protection Agency. The agency will look after the Core Urban Region (CUR), which is up to Outer Ring Road. The population in CUR accounts for 48.6 per cent of the state population and this region is very crucial in the economy of the state and its GSDP growth.
The growth rate in urban areas in Telangana is 3.2 per cent which is higher than the national average. Due to the location of various IT, pharma, defence, and aerospace industries and their rapid growth, there is an impact on the urbanisation of Hyderabad’s outskirts which is growing at a record rate.
Stating that the Musi Riverfront development project is one of the main priorities of the government, Vikramarka proposed Rs 1,500 crore for the project, which proposes to revive the ecosystem around the Musi River and aims to improve 110 km 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. As part of this project, recreation zones, people’s plazas, children’s theme parks, and entertainment zones will be developed,” he said.
The government also proposed Rs 100 crore for the extension of the Metro to the airport, Rs 200 crore for the ORR, Rs 500 crore for the Hyderabad Metro Rail, Rs 500 crore for extension of the Metro to the old city and Rs 50 crore for MMTS.