KCR urges UM Venkaiah Naidu to select Karimnagar under Smart Cities Project in place of Hyderabad. In a letter to the UM, the TS CM said that selecting Hyderabad under the Smart Cities Project and providing Rs 100 Cr per year, to improve basic amenities is not sufficient. He wanted the Centre to design a separate project to improve basic amenities in fast growing A1 cities like Hyderabad.

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao on Thursday shot off a letter to the Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, expressing his disappointment over the Centre allocating a mere Rs 100 Cr, to Hyderabad, under Smart Cities programme. Terming it as an impractical allocation, to make any improvement of basic amenities in fast growing cities like Hyderabad, he asked the Union Minister to select Karimnagar with three lakh population under the Project, in place of Hyderabad.
In his letter, KCR said that the state capital is the fastest growing cities in the country like Mumbai. But, selecting Hyderabad under the Centre’s prestigious Smart City program and providing only Rs 100 Cr is not enough to improve the basic amenities to meet the growing needs of the city.
So, there is a need to design a separate project for cities like Hyderabad to meet their specific needs to improve infrastructure facilities, than providing Rs 100 Cr under the Smart Cities programme, he added.
Reminding that Hyderabad, spread in 625 Kms is rated as A1 city in the country, KCR urged Venkaiah Naidu to provide necessary financial assistance to create the much needed infrastructure, keeping in view, the specific needs of the city. He said that Dr Isher Judge Ahulwalia Committee constituted by the Union Urban Development Ministry in 2011 had recommended an investment of Rs 30, 370 Cr for the improvement in key areas in the city. In addition, the committee had also pointed out that the city needs Rs 1,260 Cr per year, to meet the administrative and management expenditure. Further, the TS CM said that an investment of Rs 15,000 Cr is needed for providing drinking water and to construct and manage the sewerage lines in the city.

Also, the Hyderabad needed around Rs 20, 661 Cr under Strategic Road Development Project, to develop roads to create signal free corridors, development of junctions and construction of bridges. Thus, the Rs 100 Cr provided under the Smart Cities Project of the Centre would not help even if it is allocated to the GHMC that is having an annual budget outlay of Rs 5,500 Cr, KCR pointed out.