KTR Kickstarts The Process Of Urban Rejuvenation

In a first-of-its-kind program, aimed at transforming the urban landscape of Telangana State, Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao launched the ambitious Pattana Pragathi program in Mahabubnagar on Monday. It is a 10-day-long statewide drive to ensure basic civic amenities to the people, increase greenery and bring awareness among people on sanitation and hygiene.

KTR elected representatives and officials to take up creating permanent assets in urban areas and bringing about a visible increase in greenery and sanitation facilities.

“Creation of basic citizen amenities, a plan to meet future demands and a zeal to create ideal towns is the central idea of PattanaPragathi, the brainchild of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao,” Rama Rao said, addressing the meeting in Mahabubnagar.

Making it amply clear that the development of towns has nothing to do with politics, the Minister said there would be no discrimination in developing wards.

“All we have to do now is work hard to find a permanent place in the hearts of the people,” he said.

Calling upon ward officers to prepare ward-wise sanitation plans, identifying the existing and actual availability of garbage collection facilities in every ward, Rama Rao announced that the ‘Parichayam’ program implemented in GHMC will be introduced all over the State.

Under this program, names of sanitation workers and their phone numbers will be displayed prominently so that the people residing in a particular ward can directly be in touch with them, he said.

The Minister said that the new building approval portal, Telangana State Building Permissions and Self Certification System (TS-bPASS), would come into effect on April 2. Building permissions have been made citizen-friendly and at the same time violators will also be punished heftily, he said.

The Minister also directed the ward officers to embark on a tour of their respective wards to prepare a water audit of their area.

Citing Mahabubnagar Municipality as an example, Rama Rao explained that the municipality which has a budget of Rs 64.61 crores, should spend at least Rs 6 crores on increasing greenery every year.

Calling upon the municipal commissioners and councilors to create a pleasant atmosphere at the burial grounds, Vaikunta Dhamams, and Kabrastans, KTR said that basic amenities must be provided in these final resting places.

He called for de-clogging of hanging electricity lines and the replacement of damaged poles and transformers, posing danger to pedestrians.

He said that the ten-day Pattana Pragathi program must become a platform to start construction of vegetable and non-vegetarian integrated market yards, open gymnasiums, parks, sports stadiums, separate public toilets for women and men, parking zones for hired vehicles and vendor zones in every municipality of the State.

The Minister, while recognizing that there was a demand for more 2BHK houses, said that the government would take up the issue as per the availability of funds.