The Hindu           21.03.2013 

HMDA likely to get own office

After prolonged waiting and being shunted from one
premises to another, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority
(HMDA) finally appears set to get a space of its own.

The
vacant premises at Masab Tank which once housed the A.P. Riding Club
could be the next official address of the urban planning body.

After
having to vacate its office complex at Begumpet to the US Consulate,
the HMDA has its different wings operating from different locations.

It
was given an office at Greenlands and after being forced to move out of
there , the Authority presently has squeezed its many operations into a
small complex at Tarnaka.

Though a highly ambitious
project to create a central office complex at National Academy of
Construction (NAC) campus was envisaged and a foundation stone laid by
the then Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, it failed to
materialise.

Now, the vacant land measuring an acre
plus at Masab Tank is likely to be given to the HMDA for setting up its
main office complex by the government.

Proposal cleared

Initial
screening committees of the government are learnt to have cleared the
proposal and a final decision could be expected in the coming days,
according to officials.

“It is not a big piece of
land where we can create a structure to house all our operations. But we
are looking at being able to build enough space to move in at least 70
per cent to 80 per cent of our activity,” an official of the HMDA said.

The vacant premises at Masab Tank which once housed the Andhra Pradesh Riding Club could be the next official address