JNNURM providing holistic solutions to Hyderabad's problems

Hyderabad, Nov 2 : Centre's Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission programme has given the opportunity to look into the problems of this metropolitan tourist city in a holistic manner whereas earlier problems were perceived in a fragmented manner, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation(GHMC) Commissioner S P Singh said.

''Hyderabad being more than 400 years old is not a well planned city in the way Chandigarh is. Pre-JNNURM scenario was pathetic. There was a need to renew the infrastructure of the city and thereby the economy of the city. Besides, there were some areas that got water in two days,'' Mr Singh told UNI here.

Under JNNURM, water supply of 170 lpcd of water has been added to the core of the city from 130 lpcd. Besides, 80 to 110 lpcd water is being supplied to the municipality area, GHMC officials said.

Three flyovers have been completed - the most significant one in the heavily congested Punjagutta at the cost of Rs 38.24 crore, the second at Greenlands Junction built at a cost of Rs 17.26 crore and the third at Chandrayangutta, which was also a big panacea, at a cost of Rs 11 crore.

Housing projects is one of the major components of JNNURM whereby 80,000 houses for the poor have been taken up in Hyderabad.

4992 houses have been completed for those living Below the Poverty Line. Allotment in all these finished houses has been done.

The Commissioner said the city development plan was made through rigorous interactions with the stakeholders. ''The importance of the city has come back in the present times.

This century is going to be determined by the economics. Cities have to be competitive which depends upon the quality of the life index,'' he said.

The goals had to be prioritised to make the Hyderabad society pollution free and roads hassle free. ''We want that everybody who lives in Hyderabad should be integrated into the city and contributes to the development of the city. For instance, 40,000 Self-Help Groups in Hyderabad have imparted training tie-ups with jobs,'' Mr Singh said.

To attract more pople to use public transport and decongest roads, Hyderabad has been sanctioned 1000 buses under JNNURM.

Eight low floor A/C Volvo buses and 103 semi low floor buses are already operational and the rest are likely to be delivered by the last day of this year - December 31.

Water supply also being a major component of the JNNURM, a 6 million litre capacity RCC GLSR built at a cost of Rs 3.44 crore has become operational this week at Chilkalguda in the Chilkalguda Water Supply Zone. The population covered under the reservoir is 3.01 lakhs. There are 14 reservoirs under the JNNURM programme.

Besides, there are the Public Private Partnership projects being taken up here which include development of 22 foot overbridges and development of 120 pay and use toilets.

Initiatives of the GHMC also include last-mile water extending loans for water connectivity to the urban poor who will have to pay for Rs 200 only of the Rs 2000 per connection.

--UNI

(c) 2009 Published with permission from United News of India.
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