Will the 100 day turbo development work?

The full page ads announcing an 100 day action plan for the Twin Cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad announced by the new Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy came right in the midst of the media blitz of the release of the Justice Sri Krishna report on Telangana.

The timing of the Hyderabad development plan was greeted by skeptics who saw it as an attempt to win over the citizens of the twin cities from Telangana protagonists. For the denizens of the twin cities,  so, development was a mirage during the regime of YSR, who made it clear that his priority was rural Andhra Pradesh. So much so that YSR sold prime government land in Hyderabad and used the money to fund irrigation projects. 

This was in stark contrast to the regime of Chandrababu Naidu, who pumped in huge amounts of money to build brand Hyderabad as an IT destination. History may have dumped Naidu, but citizens of the twin cities will vouch that he did a lot of for the city and ever since his party lost the elections, development in Hyderabad and Secunderabad have suffered a massive blow.

The death of YSR saw “I am not sure if I am the CM – Mr Rosasiah” did not have any time for the problems that the citizens of what was once touted as one of the India’s best developed cities. Brand Hyderabad took a huge beating, but Congress politicians were least bothered as the votes from the urban agglomeration did not matter. Now, life has come full circle.

Realizing that Hyderabad was the crux of the Telangana issue, the government has realized in its belated wisdom realized that it pays to invest in the city. So, comes the 100 day action plan. Of making roads drivable, drainages that work, power supply that does not go blink, pavements for people to walk on, bus shelters, clean and regular drinking water,

The 100 day action plan talks of renewing 428 kms of road in the twin cities at a cost of of Rs.150 crores. How much of those road will withstand one good rain remains to be seen. Most of the money will be gobbled by the newly elected Corporators of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) who have become contractors overnight, in order to bag the plum projects.

Better sidewalks will be ensured by expenditure of Rs 10.7 cr and will that mean we can get better pavements which are not gobbled up small time traders. About 5 crores id earmarked for giving a new look to Medians, Flyovers and Traffic Islands.

50 new bus shelters will be a big relief for commuters who otherwise have to stand in scorching sun or pouring rain. But if bus shelters are built by the dozen in Jubilee Hills which hardly have any bus services then its money going down the drain. There are already a dozen bus shelters in Film Nagar which has only a couple of bus routes. The action plan also talks of giving a fresh looks to Parks and that one is badly needed and long overdue.

The Central Power Distribution Company Limited (CPDCL) proposes to spend improved infrastructure for quality power Rs.160 cr to improve will improve the quality power supply in the next 100 days apart from fixing loose electric wires which are posing threat to people, strengthening sub-stations, call centres and also providing quality power. The lack of land in the city has stalled setting up of sub-stations and the onset of summer will huge power cuts, not due to shortage of power, but lack of infrastructure to distribute it.

One positive spin off seems to be in the orders of the chief minister that officials need to ensure that roads in layouts being approved in panchayat areas in GHMC limits should be laid keeping in view the future needs. The suggestion to run APSRTC mini- buses in the Old City is also an innovative, but not a new idea. One of the most important factor that will ensure a liveable Hyderabad will be the plans for implementing the third phase of the Krishna water supply programme.

The area under GHMC encompasses 24 Assembly constituencies have myriad problems that go with unplanned development of any urban agglomeration. If the 100 day plan does something to alleviate this, it will be worth the effort. Or else it may turn out to be yet another bad dream.

The main problem with development in Indian cities is the lack of will, political interference, corrupt officials and to top it all in an indifferent citizenry. It’s no use blaming the government for all the ills that plague our cities. The question is, what have we done about it? When did you last voice your concern in a public forum? When did you take on an erring builder or a corrupt municipal official? Or are you like the millions in our country who shrug their shoulders and say, “Kya Kare, My complaining won’t make a difference”