Rs 13 crore Charminar fund unused

Hyderabad: Of the total amount approved according to the Detailed Project Report of the Charminar Pedestrianisation Project, over Rs 13 crore remains unspent by the GHMC since 2006. However, the corporation claims that 90 per cent of the project is complete.

The roads from Nayapul to Falaknuma Palace via Patharghatti, Charminar, Shalibanda, Engine Bowli and other roads from Murgi Chowk to Etebar Chowk through Lad Bazaar, Sardar Mahal needs immediate repairs.

The CPP envisaged regulating traffic by widening the Inner and Outer Ring Road to develop greenery, landscaping, fountains and illumination around the monument, which has been reduced to a traffic island.

In 1999, Rs 9.5 crore was sanctioned by the then MCH for the project. Though the sanctioned amount was spent, not much work was done. In 2006, the matter was referred to CRAPHTS, consultants from Ahmedabad, who had prepared the Detailed Project Report.

The then AP government had issued an order, GO no. 1218, and sanctioned Rs 35.10 crore for the CPP. Since then the works are said to be going on. RTC buses were stopped from plying around Charminar.

However, there is no respite from the traffic congestion. At many places footpaths were dug up to lay tiles. Shop owners around Charminar encroached upon the footpaths leaving no space for pedestrians to walk.

M. Padmanabha Reddy, secretary of Forum for Good Governance said that a reply to an RTI query revealed that out of Rs 35.1 crore sanctioned in 2006, about Rs 10 crore was spent for compensation to building owners, Rs 9 crore for roads, Rs 2 crore for footpaths and granite paving and Rs 37 lakh on consultants.

“The government is committed to making Hyderabad a smart city and a tourist hub and Charminar is a must-visit for all, unfortunately the monument, unlike the Taj Mahal and the Victoria Memorial, has no such facilities. It is just a busy traffic island where it is difficult to even stand for a while,” he said.