GHMC body's project to widen nalas halted

Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has put its key nala widening project, which would save the city from inundation, in cold storage. The corporation has managed to clear just 25 critical bottlenecks that too partially in 20 months. 

Civic officials say the project can’t continue for several reasons including heavy compensation to be paid to encroachers, no one being willing to execute the project, and lack of support from the political establishment. 

After wasting four years carrying out surveys and studies, the civic body in 2018 finally began removing encroachments on city nalas so that they could be widened and rainwater could flow through them instead of inundating the city. 

Around 12,000 encroachments were indentified and it was decided to clear 800 encroachments from 47 “critical bottlenecks” on priority, at an estimated cost of Rs 230 crore. But the removal of encroachments has been so slow that 20 months later, less than 200 encroachments (asbestos sheds and other minor encroachments) have been removed, which will make no difference to those living in low-lying areas that are prone to flooding. 

With unseasonal rains often occurring from March to May, the corporation has now woken up and constituted an independent enforcement wing to remove the bottlenecks. But it will take at least 18 months to remove the encroachments on the nalas, according to the enforcement wing itself, so no improvement can be expected till next year.

The enforcement wing after conducting a study has identified as many as 575 critical bottlenecks and decided to remove as many as possible. Sources said that city mayor has asked officials to remove encroachments only after taking consent and paying structural compensation to the property owners.

A senior official from the enforcement wing told this newspaper that the corporation has partially removed 25 bottle necks and about 200 encroachments on nalas. He said the corporation faces the anger of encroachers it is evicting as well as from populist politicians who fear erosion of their vote banks. Moreover, he said, fearing public resistance, no private agency is coming forward to take up the project. 

“The moment the corporation enters the site and tries to remove the encroachments on nalas, political leaders cutting across party lines stop the project. Even Transferable Development Rights (TDR) has not made a difference. The city will suffer inundation until at least critical bottle necks are cleared,” the official added.