Hyderabad: The HMDA has decided to develop the 5.5-km P.V. Narasimha Rao Marg, the former Necklace Road, on par with the Tank Bund stretch, in a project costing Rs 6.5 crore.
The HMDA will lay flamed granite on footpaths, set up specially-designed cast iron railing, grills and aligned designer lamp posts. Street furniture, kiosks and decorative lighting would be set up to attract more tourists, as has been done on the Tank Bund.
In order to minimise the foul smell from the Hussainsagar, the HMDA has decided to augment the capacity of the sewerage treatment plants (STP) on the banks of the lake.
It has floated tenders to procure consultancy services for augmentation and upgradation of the existing five million litres a day (MLD), 20 MLD and 30 MLD capacities of the STP to 10 MLD, 40 MLD and 60 MLD with tertiary treatment, including operation and maintenance of 20 years around the lake, including the required infrastructure.Unlike the previous years, the municipal authority has decided to take up the immersion programme on the four sides of the Hussainsagar. They will now lay cobblestones on PV Marg so that they could be replaced easily. They have identified seven such spots.A senior HMDA official, requesting anonymity, said that the Tank Bund beautification programme was taken up at a cost of Rs 65 crore. Phase I was complete and Rs 38 crore was spent on the works. In the second phase, the municipal authority would take up works worth Rs 10 crore, Rs 6.5 crore for PV Marg beautification and Rs 3.6 crore for augmenting the STP capacity. The official said the remaining Rs 17 crore would be spent on the Sanjeevaiah Park side. The official said that this includes the cost of greenery. It was alleged that urban biodiversity officials in order to enhance the cost were keen on inviting floating tenders, which are not included in the beautification programme.
When asked how the HMDA need Rs 38 crore to finish the work on the 2.2-km Tank Bund but was allocating and only Rs 6.5 crore for the 5.5 km PV Marg, the official refused to comment
