With just three more days left for the bio-diversity conference, it seems that the ambitious beautification project undertaken by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) will not be completed on time.
Official sources have confirmed that only 61 of the 218 works have been completed till September 26 and 157 are still in progress. A lot of money is being splashed on the works that range from relaying of footpaths, storm water drains, BT roads to minor works such as removing dangling cables and painting the flyovers and walls.
In fact, about Rs 108 crore is being spent to spruce up the 22 corridors in the GHMC limits. Here are the facts and figures of a few corridors.
Is the expenditure worth it? Will they be able to finish the works? For some, the answers are obvious. But without being judgemental, one can safely say that it is anybody’s guess.
Corridor 1 (Rd from HICC Madhapur to NFCL Junction in GHMC (R&B rd): This is the stretch on which most of the works have been taken up and which received a big chunk of the funds. More than Rs 27 crore is being spent on this corridor alone.
Roads have been laid on the stretch wherever necessary, while new tiles are being laid on footpaths till the Jubilee Hills check post. At certain points in Jubilee Hills, work is yet to begin as tiles lay piled up on one side of the road.
The road after the junction from Cyber Towers (from Shilparamam) which leads to Hitex and HICC is a different ball game altogether. Roads are in a mess, as the sides have been dug up for laying some greenery. In the process, the workers are still felling some trees. “We will try to finish all this in the next three days. But it doesn’t seem like we can do it,” shrugged one of the workers.
Corridor 22 (Rd from Afzulgunj to Kishanbagh via City College, Puranapul and Bahadurpura): Out of all the works, laying of BT roads cost the corporation Rs 2.59 crore out of the Rs 4.6 crore being spent on reconstruction and maintenance on this stretch. Although roads have been laid, a big crater lay in front of the City College. It is obvious that a lot more needs to be done, as stones are still piled up the footpaths and sand is spilled onto the roads, giving traffic police a hard time to manage traffic.
Corridor 6 (Rd from Ameerpet Junction to Charminar via Nampally, MJ Mkt, Afzalgunj): The works are progressing at pretty much the same pace in this corridor. Additionally, the only storm water drain on corridor 14 (Rd from Gachibowli Junction to Kothaguda Junction via Kondapur) alone cost GHMC an unbelievable Rs 3.93 crore! When asked about the delay in works and slow pace of work, senior official from GHMC said the funds came in late, due to which everything got delayed. “Things could have been better planned, and started earlier,” he admitted.
Chief Engineer Kanna Suresh Kumar blamed the monsoon for the slow pace of the works.
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