67,000 cr to boost Hyd infra

Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister K. T. Rama Rao on Wednesday said that considering the growing importance of Hyderabad and its crucial role in the state’s economy, the state government has initiated a number of schemes and capital projects for upkeep of existing infrastructure and also to create new infrastructure.

Making a statement during a short discussion on ‘Civic works and other infrastructure facilities in GHMC, its surrounding areas and also other municipalities’ in the Assembly, he said that the government spent `67,000 crore for infrastructure development in areas under Greater Hyderabad since the formation of Telangana.

Further, about `78 crore are being released for Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) every month and an equal amount for the rest of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in the state, he said.

Rama Rao said “ever since the formation of the state in 2014, Telangana has been one of the fastest growing states in terms of urbanization in the country. At 42.6%, Telangana’s urban population is well above the national average of 31.2%.”

He explained that “in order to provide better citizen services to urban citizens, a number of legislative and administrative reforms have been undertaken by the government in the last six years. Because of growing urbanization and urban features, a total of 74 new municipalities and seven municipal corporations were formed in the last three years thus taking the total number of municipalities to 142. Additionally, 173 gram panchayats were merged with existing ULBs.”