HMDA presses Telangana government to release funds for ORR loan repayment

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) is knocking on the doors of the state government, seeking repayment of the money it spent for the construction of the Outer Ring Road (ORR). The HMDA had borrowed the money, and needs to repay it.

The HMDA said that it had not received a penny in the past four financial years despite spending Rs 332.58 crore every year from its kitty. Covid-19 has severely affected the Authority's financial condition and it cannot sustain itself if the long-pending dues are not cleared by the government, it has said.

During the current financial year, the HMDA had expected special allocations for the long-pending major projects, including for the Rs 125 crore Hyderabad Habitat Centre (HHC) and the Rs 100 crore Eco Park at Kothwalguda in 85 acres.

Besides this, within the HMDA budget, the municipal authority has asked for release of Rs 1,600 crore for the ORR. Five packages of ORR have been given under the buid-operate-transfer pattern. As the works in all the packages were completed, money will need be released on an annuity basis to concessionaires. This amounted to Rs 332.58 crore annually.

A senior HMDA official said the state borrowed Rs 332.58 crore from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Yet, the government did not channel funds to the municipal authority in the last four financial years. The HMDA has spent the amount from its own funds.

The official said the HMDA is in dire need of Rs 1,600 crore during the current financial year. The remaining payments could be made in bits and pieces later, as the government itself is the counter guarantee, he said.

This apart, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board proposed to introduce its draft budget of Rs 2,000 crore for the 2021-22. The lion's share of the budget includes Rs 1,000 crore for the ring main project, '500 crore for free drinking water scheme for the peripheral areas and Rs 500 crore for the most-awaited sewerage master plan.

As against a previous state budget allocation of Rs 1,000 crore, the Water Board has asked the government to double the budgetary allocation this time to execute the ongoing and future mega projects in the city. The HMWS&SB also made clear that the government should bear the expenditure of all infrastructure projects taken up by the water board including implementation of free drinking water supply, 20 kilolitre per month.

"The financial condition of all nodal agencies would further deteriorate since the government has to repay all the loans with principal amount and interest. It did not make the payment for the past three financial years. Overall, the government has to allocate a minimum of Rs 1,500 crore per nodal agency to rescue them from bankruptcy," officials said.