CM satisfied with demolitions

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday expressed satisfaction over the demolition drive taken up by the GHMC to clear encroachments over nals in the city and asked officials to maintain the same pace in demolition of the remaining illegal structures.

Mr Rao reviewed the progress of demolition drive with ministers and senior officials at his camp office here. Officials told the CM that nearly 400 illegal structures were razed during the last two days.

He directed officials to take up demolition drive and repair of the damaged roads simultaneously, while creating better infrastructure facilities in the city.

He asked officials to draft plans to mobilise loans from banks for creation of better infrastructure facilities in the city and reiterated that the TS government will stand as guarantor.

“If we are sincere in our efforts, the financial institutions will definitely extend loans liberally. Mission Bhagiratha stands as a classic example of this. Scores of banks are coming forward to extend thousands of crores in loans for the project because they believe in our sincere efforts to provide safe drinking water to each and every household. The same policy should be adopted for redesigning of Hyderabad as a global city,” the CM said.

He said that global cities can’t emerge overnight. “If we make sincere efforts for 10 to 12 years, Hyderabad can be made a global city,” Mr Rao said.

Mr Rao asked officials to assess the damage caused to roads on account of recent rains and submit a report at the earliest to claim financial assistance from the Centre.

He said the government will allocate special funds in the annual Budget from next year for development of Hyderabad.

Meanwhile, MAUD minister K.T. Rama Rao said 28,000 illegal buildings on nalas have been identified and will be demolished to clear encroachments. He said no timeframe has been fixed to complete the demolition but the target was to clear all the encroachments by next summer.