TRS girds up for GHMC polls, civic projects get big push

Hyderabad: The state government appears to be getting ready for GHMC elections by promising to turn Hyderabad into a global city. While the civic body is speeding up works like construction of flyovers, junction improvements and black-topping of roads, the ruling TRS is trying to woo the citizens by offering various sops.
The present GHMC council term ends in February 2021 and the elections are likely to be held in December this year or January next year.
In the last elections, TRS had won 99 seats, while its ally bagged 44 seats. BJP secured four seats, Congress two and TDP one seat.
But, going by the indications, TRS is already in an election mode. On Thursday, the standing committee of the civic body passed a resolution to waive off 80% of interest totalling Rs 800 crore on property tax arrears till 2019-20 on all the properties except those belonging to the government. Interestingly, in the 2016 GHMC elections, a sop was offered to collect a nominal Rs 101 towards property from those owners who had been paying a property tax of Rs 1,200 a year. This scheme had benefited about five lakh property tax owners.
For the past few months, projects taken up under Strategic Road Development Plan (SRDP), have been speeded up and some were inaugurated. Flyovers at Bio-Diversity junction and LB Nagar were inaugurated. MAUD minister KT Rama Rao is keen to fast-track the cable-stayed bridge across Durgam Cheruvu, flyover at Balanagar and other works.
Using the lockdown period, GHMC is rushing through the works on a steel bridge at Chutney’s restaurant near Nagarjuna Circle. The bridge is almost nearing completion. Apart from recarpeting the roads, Rs 170 crore was sanctioned to lay cement concrete roads covering a length of 300 km in the peripheral areas of the city under GHMC’s jurisdiction.
“GHMC has taken up developmental works costing Rs 30,000 crore in the last few years. The works were mainly taken up to turn Hyderabad into a global city. We made use of lockdown period to complete many works as there was no traffic diversion issues,” mayor Bonthu Rammohan told TOI.
TRS sources said the party is targeting 110 of 150 wards in the upcoming elections leaving AIMIM its share of seats in the Old City. “We are hopeful of getting a positive result because of our work in the last four-and-a-half years,” a senior TRS functionary said. The ruling party is planning to hold a meeting with corporators after June 30 on the elections.
Municipal authorities said special emphasis is being given on urban areas and CM K Chandrasekhar Rao has already announced Rs 50,000 crore would be spent on urban areas and municipalities over five years from 2019.
But opposition parties allege that the government, which had neglected the city in the past five years, is now trying to prov e it has transformed the city. “TRS has a habit of laying foundation stones and making announcements of various projects worth several crores of rupees. One lakh 2BHK houses were announced, which are yet to be completed. GHMC has gone bankrupt during TRS’s rule,” BJP MLC and party Greater Hyderabad unit president N Ramchander Rao said.