Aim was to place Hyderabad in top 30 cities in the world: KTR

Hyderabad: Stating that Telangana Government was striving for comprehensive development of towns and cities, Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao said the aim was to ensure Hyderabad ranks among the top 30 cities in the world. “Apart from the best cities in the country, we want to compete with the top 30 […]

Hyderabad: Stating that Telangana Government was striving for comprehensive development of towns and cities, Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao said the aim was to ensure Hyderabad ranks among the top 30 cities in the world. “Apart from the best cities in the country, we want to compete with the top 30 cities in the world by establishing the required infrastructure,” said Rama Rao.

In addition to extending monthly financial assistance, the State Government was providing the required human resources by filling up the vacancies in the ULBs, he said after releasing MAUD department’s annual performance report 2021-22 here on Friday. He has been releasing the department’s annual performance report for the fifth consecutive year. “Opposition parties or people did not demand us to release this report. The idea is to promote transparency in governance by sharing achievements, project details and works planned by the department,” Rama Rao said.

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Regarding rapid urbanization in the State, the Minister said Telangana was among the top three urbanized States in the country. BJP-led Central Government should allocate more Smart Cities and funds proportionately to the State, he stressed. Karimnagar and Warangal are the only two cities, which have been identified under the Smart City programme from Telangana.

The State Government executed all the works and extended financial and administrative support under the Smart Cities programme for Karimnagar and Warangal. However, Central Government cannot adopt the ‘One Size fits all’ approach. More Smart Cities and funds should be allocated to Telangana, he demanded. Niti Aayog had recently mentioned that India was likely to have 50 per cent of its population in urban areas by 2050. But Telangana was already much ahead of this trend and was posed to have 50 per cent population in urban areas by 2025, he pointed out.

“This will throw more challenges in terms of creating the required infrastructure and Telangana Government is taking up measures accordingly,” Rama Rao said. Under Pattana Pragathi programme, several citizen centric works were being used to provide basic amenities across the State. Biomining, setting up fecal sludge treatment plants, digital door numbering etc are being taken up under the 10-point agenda initiative and majority of these works would be completed by March 2023, he assured.

Ward Officers for ULBS

The Minister further said to monitor and ensure effective implementation of Haritha Haram, sanitation, solid waste management, social security schemes and other municipal services, Ward Officers were being appointed in ULBs. Like, Panchayat Secretary’s in rural bodies, Ward Officers would be monitoring and implementing different works in coordination with local councilors or corporators.

One Ward Officer is being appointed for a ward with over 50,000 population and one officer for two wards, which have less than 50,000 population. To this effect, 2,242 Ward Officers were being appointed.