2BHK project to place Rs 2,500 crore load on GHMC

Hyderabad: Although the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation is
facing a severe fund crunch with respect to its ongoing infrastructure
projects, including the Strategic Road Development Plan, the state
government has asked the civic body to bear an additional cost of Rs 2,500 crore.

The corporation was already relying on municipal bonds to complete the construction of the ongoing skyways and underpasses, and the government has now asked the civic body to bear the additional costs towards constructing all dwelling units in the G+9 pattern and other civic amenities.

Wile the annual revenue of the corporation stands at around Rs 3,500 crore, this project alone will now take up a lion’s share at the estimated expenditure of Rs 2,500 crore. To add to their woes, the government has promised to deliver the project by the end of the current financial year.

The state government embarked on a survey and found that nearly five lakh dwellers in the state did not have their own houses. It then decided to construct one lakh double- bedroom houses for the urban poor during the first phase of the project.

The corporation identified 117 locations to take up the housing project and construct 1.1 lakh 2BHK houses. The centre sponsored Rs 1,500 crore for the project while the state government allocated Rs 4,500 towards the same. The government then fixed the unit price at Rs 7.5 lakh and assured to bear the infrastructure cost of Rs 1.5 lakh per unit.

Highly placed sources in the corporation claimed that the government has now decided to fund only 30,000 2BHK houses, which are almost through with construction. These houses have been constructed in the G+3 and G+5 patterns.

The sources claimed that the government, during a recent review meeting, asked the civic body to bear the infrastructure cost for all dwelling units to be constructed in the G+9 pattern. Consequently, the corporation now has to bear an additional burden of Rs 1,050 crores for 70,000 houses.

Further, the infrastructure cost per unit has been estimated to exceed the previous estimate by Rs 85,000, which means an added outgo of Rs 850 crore for 1,00,000 houses.

This apart, the government had also promised to construct police stations, schools, hospitals, roads, markets, etc., and that is now estimated to cost another Rs 650 crore.