HCCC Slams TRS, BJP Over City's "Low" MOHUA Rank

Hyderabad City Congress Committee (HCCC) Minorities Department head Sameer Waliullah today accused both the TRS, and the BJP of "ruining the brand image" of the state capital.

His comments follow the publication of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs' Ease Of Living rankings for Indian cities in which Hyderabad secured the 24th rank among 49 cities.

Waliullah reacted sharply to the fall in the city's rank, from 6th to 24th, and said that it was highly unfortunate that Hyderabad has scored such "low" ranks in almost all the parameters of the ministry's ranking system.

Speaking on the matter, he said, "Most of the time, it is the citizen's perception that plays a major role in the rank a city secures on such forums. The rank that our capital has received is a result of the TRS government's utter failure to maintain the brand image of Hyderabad within its residents. This is what consequently changed the people's perception of the city and affected the ranking."

(The city ranked 41st in citizen perception.)

The HCCC official added that the preceding Congress regime of undivided Andhra Pradesh had worked hard to transform Hyderabad into "a global brand".

"Hyderabad was ranked first in the Mercer's Quality of Living Index in India, in 2015. However, the mismanagement and neglect of the TRS regime through its seven-year rule has ruined the city's image. Hyderabad is no longer the brand that the Congress had created," he claimed.

"While the TRS has neglected Hyderabad by not granting adequate funds for its development and maintenance, the BJP-led Centre has all but blacklisted the city from its funding lists too. In fact, the BJP has also ruined our city's image as a peaceful and cosmopolitan place by making it seem like a communally volatile city. It had even proposed to change the city's name. This must stop if we wish to restore Hyderabad at the global level," Waliullah added.

The Congress leader also expressed concern over the GHMC ranking 17th among 51 municipal corporations in the country. It ranked 45th in the services parameter.

He urged both the Centre and the state government not to dismiss the rankings without analysing what had caused Hyderabad to rank 24th among 49 other cities.

The city's low rank is bound to leave many cornered since the parameters of the ranking system include quality of life, economic ability and sustainability.