Hyderabad: Citizens Write to CM Against Construction of Flyovers Around KBR Park
Hyderabad: Many people from the city have written to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy expressing grave concern at GHMC's Rs 586-crore proposal to construct flyovers in six locations around KBR park. They recalled that similar proposals brought forth by the civic body in the past were vehemently opposed by the citizens.
The letter cites the Supreme Court's suggestion for establishing eco-sensitive zones (ESZ) around all national parks, where a default one km perimeter around parks has been mandated as ESZ.
"However, the KBR park, under the BRS government, has been subjected to proposals that drastically reduce this perimeter to a mere three to 29.8 metres for the Strategic Road Development Plan (SRDP)," mentions the letter. This was strongly opposed by the people.
The revival of the plan to construct flyovers and widen roads around the park would threaten the park’s very existence, they pointed out.
The BRS government had introduced SRDP in 2015, which, despite criticism by the people, was approved by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests in 2020. The Centre had stated that trees within the first boundary wall of the park must not be felled.
The proposed locations for development of flyovers around the park include the park entrance/LV Prasad junction, Jubilee Hills check-post junction, road No. 45 junction, Filmnagar junction, Maharaja Agrasen junction and Basavatarakam Cancer Hospital junction.
The park is in a prime location and the area around it is frequented by ministers, politicians, film stars and VIPs, they said.
In their letter, the citizens have urged the Chief Minister to restore ESZ around the park to its original 35-metre radius. They also suggested that scientifically-based comprehensive studies must be conducted to find solutions for traffic management rather than merely widening roads and constructing flyovers. They said that the legal aspects of the matter must also be looked into.
