HMRL, HMAL get lion’s share in state budget
The Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL). (PTI file image)
HYDERABAD: Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) and Hyderabad Airport Metro Limited (HMAL) received the lion’s share in the State Budget 2023-24, Rs 2,000 crore and Rs 500 crore respectively, among civic bodies servicing the city. The money allocated to HMRL included Rs 500 crore for the 5.5 km MGBS-Falaknuma Metro Rail line.
The HMWS&SB received less money, Rs 1,961 crore against Rs 1,625 crore during the financial year 2022-23, the HMDA Rs 200.1 crore, the Musi Riverfront Development Corporation Limited (MRDCL) allocation remained unchanged at Rs 200 crore and the GHMC was earmarked Rs 95.60 crore.
Presenting the State Budget, finance minister T. Harish Rao pointed to the sharp rise in the number of travellers using the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Shamshabad, and said the expanded facilities costing Rs 7,500 crore, which will be ready by June, would be able to handle four crore passengers annually.
He said Metro Rail connectivity to the airport costing Rs 6,250 crore will be completed in three years with state funds.
Of the Rs 500 km crore for the Airport Metro, Rs 377.25 crore would be allocated from Scheduled Castes Special Development Fund (SCSDF) and Rs 45.4 crore from the Scheduled Tribes Special Development Fund (STSDF).
Incidentally, Rs 500 crore was allocated last year too for the Falaknuma line but appears not to have been sanctioned.
He said the government has taken up numerous projects worth Rs 387 crore in the HMDA jurisdiction and under under Haritha Haram, 63 lakh saplings had been planted and the 23-km, Rs 95-crore solar roof cycle track in Kokapet layout would be a trendsetter.
He said the HMWS&SB had taken up a project to provide drinking water facilities to people living within the limits of the Outer Ring Road at a cost of Rs 1,956 crore. The Rs 2,214-crore Sunkishala intake works to supply water to the city would be completed this year.
A sewerage master plan was being implemented in Hyderabad. Construction of 31 sewerage treatment plants with a capacity of 1,259 million litres per day has been taken up at a cost of Rs 3,866 crore. The budget allocation was Rs 1625 crore, which is Rs 506 less than the previous fiscal’s allocation.
The government allocated Rs 10 lakh for HMDA development. It allocated Rs 200 crore for five packages on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) under
Build Operate Transfer (BOT), as the HMDA needs to release Rs 332.85 crore annually to the concessionaires.
The GHMC would receive Rs 11.34 crore towards salaries, Rs 10 crore as property tax on government buildings, Rs 95.6 crore towards professional tax compensation and Rs 10 lakh compensation. The corporation had sought Rs 1,500 crore. The financial crisis at the corporation will deepen, with bills to be paid for major infrastructure projects including Strategic Road Development Programme (SRDP), Comprehensive Road Maintenance Project (CRMP), Strategic Nala Development Plan (SRDP) among others.
Overall an amount of Rs 11,372 crore is proposed for the municipal administration and urban development department.
