HYDERABAD: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) whip in the assembly and MLA KP Vivekananda said funds allocation for Hyderabad in the budget should not be confined to only paper, but also release the funds for taking up development works.
He said in the previous budget for 2024-2025, the govt allocated Rs 10,000 crore, but only 25% of them were released and spent on various organs of the municipal administration in the city. The MLA said the govt should not neglect other areas in the name of Future City.
Participating in the debate on grants for municipal administration in the state assembly on Monday, Vivekananda said last year GHMC was allocated Rs 2,652 crore, but only Rs 1,200 crore and HMDA was given only Rs 500 crore against Rs 2,000 crore, and H-CITI works only Rs 902 crore were released against the Rs 2,500 crore.
The Musi rejuvenation project got only Rs 80 crore against a 1,500 crore allocation in the previous budget.
Similarly, funds were not released for various projects, including metro rail phase 2 works and two elevated corridors being taken up by the HMDA, he said.
“This year too, the govt allocated huge amounts to the projects such as H-CITI, but there should be a time frame for completing the projects. There has been no progress in two elevated corridors, JBS to Shamirpet and another from Paradise to Medchal, for the past one year. While metro rail works are moving fast in Future City, survey works are not completed in the northern part of the city,” the MLA said.
He said the real estate sector has been witnessing a downtrend for the past one year, and it further impacted after HYDRAA was created. One realtor, Venu Gopal Reddy, committed suicide due to the slowdown in the realty sector, he said. The HMDA, which needs Rs 23,000 crore for taking up various projects, is not in a position to mobilise funds through the sale of govt lands due to unfavourable real estate conditions, he said.
The govt whip sought clarity on CM Revanth Reddy’s remarks that the govt was not getting loans and funds to Telangana due to the huge borrowings and financial situation. Vivekananda earlier claimed the state govt earlier said the state got Rs 2 lakh crore in Davos. Both the statements were contradicting each other, he said.
Advising the govt not to neglect the GHMC areas, Vivekananda said in the GHMC limits, 40% of the streetlights were not glowing due to pending bills clearance and other issues, and CCTV cameras are not functioning. He demanded the state govt process Layout Regularisation Scheme (LRS) applications without collecting any amount from the applicants as promised to the people during the previous elections.