Stating that people had just seen a trailer of development under the BRS government so far, IT and Industries Minister KT Rama Rao on Tuesday said a new, planned version of Hyderabad would be developed between the proposed 330-km Regional Ring Road (RRR) and the Outer Ring Road (ORR).
Nearly 50 per cent of the Telangana’s population would come under this region. Even this was not sufficient, and another ring road would have to be developed covering up to Suryapet considering future growth and the potential increase in population. This would aid in easing traffic congestion between Hyderabad and other cities in the State, he said, citing the example of Beijing, which has five ring roads.
Speaking at a Telangana Builders Federation programme here, he said Hyderabad had surpassed Bengaluru twice in the last two years in terms of tech jobs creation. There was a need to develop more social infrastructure. If this trend has to continue in Hyderabad, then Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao should be elected again as continuity and stability were essential, he said.
“In the neighbouring Karnataka, the race for Chief Minister’s post is heating up and in Telangana Congress, there are already a dozen contenders for the post. Forget about the six guarantees of the Congress, a new Chief Minister for every six months is certain if they are elected to power,” Rama Rao said.
He reminded that during the previous Congress regime, there was naxalism due to lack of water, employment and poverty. Recently, farmers from Karnataka staged protests in Telangana against the Congress government there for failing to provide them with power. There was no power on Diwali and people had to celebrate in darkness, he said, stating that the people should decide whether they want Diwali or ‘diwala’ (bankruptcy), Congress or current (power).
The BRS working president said in the last 9.5 years, land prices had increased substantially across Telangana and this trend had infused a sense of confidence among farmers. Cutting across sections, several people, including Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu had acknowledged that wealth was being created in Telangana and land prices had increased drastically in a short span.
All this was possible due to a stable government and the able leadership of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, he said, asking whether development would continue if there was a change in leadership every six months.
Telangana had suffered about losses to the tune of Rs.1 lakh crore due to the Covid pandemic, besides losing crucial time. Yet, the State government had never compromised on implementation of welfare and development programme, he said.
The Congress party had ruled Telangana for 55 years and BRS ruled for about 9.5 years. People can compare the performance of both the governments and judge for themselves, he said, ridiculing Congress assurance to take up beautification works in River Musi, which it had never done even after ruling the State for a long time.
Calling Hyderabad the economic engine of Telangana with the State getting nearly 45 to 50 percent of its GSDP from the city, he said if Hyderabad’s growth was affected, the entire State would get affected.
In the neighbouring Karnataka, people were unhappy. The BJP government was ousted from power and the Congress government soon after taking charge, was imposing a special tax of Rs.500 per square feet on the builders, he said, adding that people always desire for hassle-free governance and law and order to be under control.
This is just the beginning and there was much more to come, he appealed to the builders not to sell their land. In the first two terms, the BRS government had focused on improving water supply by constructing Kaleshwaram and other irrigation projects, power installed capacity was increased from 7000 MW to 18,000 MW. This would be further increased to 24,000 MW, he said, adding that many development projects would be taken up in the city.
