HYDERABAD: The BRS government has overseen a phenomenal growth in asset creation in the last eight years. At the time of its formation in 2014, the government had buildings totalling 60 lakh square feet. In eight years, it has grown this to 2.30 crore sq. ft.
Of this, the new Secretariat alone accounts for about 8.50 lakh sq.ft. New integrated district collectorate complexes, educational institutions and hospitals have been constructed in districts leading to huge asset creation.
As per the Telangana Socio-Economic Survey 2023, tabled in the recent Budget session of the Assembly, Telangana stands second in the country after Goa if all states are taken into consideration and is at No.1 if only major states are considered, in terms of per capita development expenditure for creating assets.
The decisions of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao to increase districts from 10 to 33 and build integrated district collectorate complexes in all the districts, construction of a new Secretariat and state-of-the-art police command control centre in Hyderabad have resulted in creation of assets of over 40 lakh sq. ft.
Most of these projects are being executed by the roads and buildings department. R&B minister Prashanth Reddy said, "Asset creation has been the priority of the Chief Minister. I am fortunate to be heading the R&B department, which has been entrusted with the task of asset creation. Recently, when Delhi and Punjab Chief Ministers visited Khammam to take part in the inauguration of the integrated district collectorate complex, they said that it looked like the state secretariat. It's the best compliment I have received."
The state government has spent Rs. 617 crore to construct 8.50 lakh sq.ft Secretariat, Rs. 585 crore for construction of 5.06 lakh sq.ft police command control centre, Rs. 1,600 crore for construction of integrated district collectorate complexes totaling 32 lakh sq.ft.
This apart, IT minister K.T. Rama Rao's initiative to build the largest incubator ‘T-Hub 2.0’ in Hyderabad and to expand the IT sector to tier-II cities by building IT Towers has resulted in creation of assets of 10,68,850 sq.ft.
While T-Hub 2.0 was built at a cost of nearly Rs. 400 crore with a built up area of 5.83 lakh sq.ft, construction of IT towers in eight districts resulted in asset creation of 4,85,850 sq.ft. IT Towers have come up in Warangal, Khammam, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Mahbubnagar, Siddipet, Nalgonda and Adilabad.
The Health City in Warangal comprising a 24-storey hospital building at a cost of Rs. 1,200 crore will create an asset of 16.5 lakh sq.ft. The works are progressing at a fast pace and the inauguration is expected by the year-end.
Chandrashekar Rao inaugurated Banjara Bhavan of 61,544 sq.ft and Adivasi Bhavan of 82,009 sq.ft built at a cost of Rs. 25 crore each in Banjara Hills last September.
Establishing a medical college with a hospital attached to it in every district headquarters has resulted in asset creation of a further 32 lakh sq.ft. The construction of three TIMS (Telangana Institute of Medical Sciences) hospitals at three locations in the city at a cost of Rs. 2,000 crore is progressing at a brisk pace. This will create assets of 41 lakh sq.ft. TIMS hospitals are coming up at Alwal, Gaddiannaram and Erragadda at a cost of nearly Rs. 900 crore each with 1,000 beds and built-up area of 13.71 lakh square feet each.
The BRS government completed the long-pending MLA and MLC quarters in Hyderabad in 2019. Around 120 apartments of 2,400 sq.ft have resulted in asset creation of 2.88 lakh sq.ft. The decision to build camp offices for MLAs in all the 119 constituencies contributed to an additional 4.23 lakh sq/ft.
Meanwhile, asset creation is not restricted to construction of buildings alone. The state government constructed Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project at a cost of nearly Rs. One lakh crore and Mission Bhagiratha at a cost of nearly Rs. 35,000 crore.
