The New Indian Express 25.08.2010
Finally, City has a new master plan
At long last, Hyderabad has a new master plan to replace the old one that outlived its utility 10 years ago. The new design lays down the contours of the city’s development for the next 20 years. During the hiatus between the two master plans, the city has grown to a sprawl of 7,110 sq km, making it the second largest city in the country after Bangalore.Chief minister K Rosaiah released the plan at a review meeting with officials of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) here today.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, municipal administration and urban development (MAUD) minister A Ramnarayana Reddy said the master plan lays down stipulations that internal roads should be of 40 ft width. Also, it envisages a green belt on the banks of the Hussain Sagar and the conversion of MS Makhta, opposite Raj Bhavan, into a residential area. Roads along the prospective metro rail lines will be of 100 ft width. The plan envisages building of 10 flyovers, 13 bridges and seven road-under-bridges. Five multi-level parking facilities will come up in the city.
The minister said master plans for all 18 segments of the urban agglomeration have been prepared and digitised. The master plan will be available on the HMDA’s website from Aug 26.
Hyderabad’s first master plan was finalied in 1975 and was in force till 2000. Since then a new plan has been under preparation with all policy decisions and the city’s growth projections having to be taken into account.
Ramnarayana Reddy said the chief minister wanted the Rs 7,000 crore Outer Ring Road to be completed by the end of 2012. The MA&UD minister said the first phase of the ORR would be completed by the end of November this year. Thirty-three radial roads will be built at a cost of Rs 350 crore. A 1 km belt on either side of the ring road will be earmarked as the Growth Corridor. The government will decide what exactly can be built in that belt.
The minister said the Hussain Sagar clean-up programme would be completed by the end of 2012 at a cost of Rs 370 crore. As part of this, sewage treatment plants (STP) at Balkapur, Kuckatpalli and Rangadham would be strengthened and water flowing into the lake from the Kukatpally STP would diverted through the ring main.
Ramanarayana Reddy said construction of approach roads to the P V Narasimha Rao Expressway was in progress, with three already completed. The construction of another three was in the land acquisition state, he explained.
The Hi-Tec city flyover would be completed by next month. The Kukatpalli road-over-bridge would be completed by the end of next March at a cost of Rs 99 crore, the minister said.
An inter-district bus terminal would come up at Miyapur on 55 acres at a cost of Rs 100 crore. It would accommodate about 1,000 buses. Two logistic parks would come up at Mangalpalli and Batasingaram.
