KTR Slams Defence Authorities Closing Roads "Unilaterally"

Telangana IT and Municipal Administration Minister K T Rama Rao today expressed his concern and anguish at the "unilateral" decisions being taken by the defence authorities to close certain roads leading to residential colonies, causing untold hardships to the residents in the Secunderabad cantonment area.

Expressing his unhappiness over the actions of the defence authorities while replying to a supplementary question in the state Assembly, KTR also pointed out that the unwanted delays in executing various works under the Strategic Road Development Plans (SRDP) being proposed by the GHMC in Hyderabad were also a result of the insensitivity of defence authorities, who were in this case not giving the needed clearances for lands coming under their purview.

KTR explained that some of the important skyways planned under the SRDP to ease the traffic congestion in places including the Paradise-Suchitra cross roads and the Jubilee Bus Station, and the Shamirpet skyways, which required lands that come under the purview of the defence ministry, were getting stuck due to non-clearance.

Though the state government was prepared to provide 600 acres of land near Shamirpet in lieu of 100 acres of land required for various developmental activities, the defence ministry was not accepting it. This was mainly because the defence ministry was insisting that the state government pay a recurring amount of Rs. 30 crores per year besides the land that was being offered, he said.

The minister said that the government had already allocated Rs. 2,500 crores to the HMDA to take up these developmental works that had been stalled due to lack of clearances from the defence ministry.

A total of 52 works in 5 phases estimated at Rs. 26,459.81 crores had been taken under the SRDP, and of these 16 are progressing at a brisk pace and the rest would be taken up shortly, he added.

Speaking of the feedback received from commuters after launching the first SRDP project at Ayyappa Society, KTR said that a survey OF commuters using the underpass which was opened on January 3 showed that people were quite satisfied, and hailed the efforts of the government to ease traffic congestion and reduce the traveling time. The citizens wanted the GHMC to take up more such useful projects by making signal-free junctions, he said.