Hyderabad, May 9 (RAHNUMA): Chief Minister A. Revnath Reddy has announced that the State government envisaged plans to make Hyderabad a ‘ Traffic Free City’ by constructing the underpasses, surface roads and elevated corridor network.
Multi level parking and multi mode transport systems would also be developed to ease traffic problems in the city, the Chief Minister said while attending a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing committee on Urban Affairs and Housing at the Secretariat on Saturday.
In the meeting attended by the Standing Committee Chairperson M. Srinivas Reddy and the members, including Congress MP Chamala Kirankuma Reddy, the Chief Minister said that widening the roads alone was not sufficient to effectively manage traffic and there was a need to develop transportation infrastructure through a multi-modal approach.
“To address parking challenges, we are establishing multi-level parking facilities across the city. We are striving to transform Hyderabad into a traffic-free city. In key areas, we adopted a multi-pronged strategy to facilitate smoother traffic flow through underpasses, surface roads, and elevated corridors,” he said.
The Chief Minister noted that the increasing urbanisation was throwing new challenges and emphasised the critical need to develop infrastructure facilities commensurate with these evolving demands.
He presented a detailed overview of the challenges anticipated in the near future due to modernisation and urbanisation and the measures being undertaken by the people-centric government to overcome them.
Revanth Reddy highlighted that the government formulated plans to develop the state by categorising it into three distinct zones– CURE, PURE, and RARE. The inside of the Outer Ring Road-known as the Core Urban Region Economy (CURE) will be transformed into a hub of the service sector and the outside of the ORR up to the Regional Ring Road which is being called as Peri-Urban Region Economy (PURE) will be promoted as a manufacturing hub. The area lying beyond the Regional Ring Road—designated as the Rural Agriculture Region Economy (RARE) would be a hub of agriculture and its allied sectors, he said.
Further, Revanth Reddy said the government has already unveiled the ‘Telangana Rising 2047’ Master Plan for the comprehensive development of the state.
The Chief Minister briefed the committee the measures taken to free Hyderabad from air pollution and the development of the Musi Riverfront to conserve nature and preserve the city’s cultural fabric. He affirmed the government’s firm resolve to systematically develop Hyderabad city specifically CURE region within the Outer Ring Road limits by addressing the comprehensive challenges currently facing the area and aligning its growth with future requirements.
To reduce air pollution, Revanth Reddy said the government was introducing EV buses into the RTC fleet in Hyderabad. Furthermore, retrofitting the existing auto-rickshaws within the Core Urban Region and converting them into electric vehicles free of cost was part of air purification measures, he said.
During the meeting, senior officials presented the government’s plans regarding Hyderabad’s drinking water supply, urban development, the rejuvenation of the Musi River, and other urban development projects to the Standing Committee through a PowerPoint presentation. On this occasion, the Chief Minister appealed to the Standing Committee to take the initiative in seeking cooperation from the Central Government to further accelerate the city’s development.
The Chairperson and other members of the Standing Committee described the undertaking of the Musi River Rejuvenation Project as a revolutionary decision. The committee members said that the Musi project aimed at enhancing the living standards of Hyderabad’s residents is the first of its kind in the country.
The committee commended the Chief Minister for undertaking this project, which holds immense significance for the people of Hyderabad. The committee also lauded the measures being implemented for women’s empowerment in the Telangana state.
Chief Secretary K. Ramarkrishna Rao and the top officials of the state and union governments were also present in the meeting. Earlier, the Chief Minister felicitated the Standing Committee Chairperson and its members.
