Telangana’s Finance Minister T Harish Rao on Monday, March 7, announced the Budget for 2022-23. The government has proposed a total expenditure of Rs 2,56,958.51 crores, in which the revenue expenditure is Rs 1,89,274.82 crores and capital expenditure is Rs 29,728.44 crore. Here’s what Hyderabad city gets in the Budget:
The Telangana government has allocated Rs 3,866 crore to treat sewage in Hyderabad. The government has also set aside Rs 725 crore in the current Budget towards the Sunkishala drinking water project – which would address the drinking water issues in Hyderabad, according to the government.
The government is spending Rs 858 crores towards nala development works, and Rs 36.5 crore towards beautification of the Gandipeta reservoir. The Finance Minister said that under the Strategic Road Development Programme (SRDP), 18 roads and flyovers were constructed. He added that the Hyderabad Road Development Corporation has taken up construction of 39 link roads which would connect the Outer Ring Road (ORR) from various parts of the city, out of which 22 of them have been completed. The minister said that the government has earmarked Rs 1542 crore towards maintenance of roads. Further, habitations around the ORR are being provided with drinking water at a cost of Rs 1200 crore, Harish Rao said.
The government has also proposed developing a Regional Ring Road (RRR), which would ease traffic congestion and save time for people coming to Hyderabad from districts. The proposed project would be built 30 kms away from the ORR, over a length of 340 kms. Presently, the government is in the process of acquiring land for the project.
Three more super speciality hospitals – in LB Nagar, Alwal and Erragadda – which will be collectively referred to as Telangana Institutes of Medical Sciences have been announced. Already, the TIMS hospital in Gachibowli has been in operation since last year. The bed-capacity in Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences will also be increased to 3,489.
The minister also said that 350 Basti Dawakhanas will be established in Hyderabad. Presently, the city has 257 health centres.
The government has allocated Rs 2,377.35 crore towards the Metro Rail project, this includes for Metro rail connectivity to Old city (for initiating Corridor II- Green Line works from MGBS to Falaknuma; 5.5km): Rs 500 crore; Airport metro connectivity (new project): Rs 377.35 crore; and funds to Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited: Rs 1500 crore.
The metro rail for the western part of the city, connecting Begum Bazar, Mangalhat and neighbouring areas, has been one of the long-standing demands of the residents, and the AIMIM. Though the metro rail was inaugurated in a phased manner in 2017, the 5.5 km line connecting the old city is yet to see the light of day. The presence of heritage sites and places of work in the old city also delayed the project. L&T, the group which is part of the project, suffered a loss of Rs 382 crore in the Hyderabad Metro Rail project for the year 2019-20 due to the COVID-induced lockdown. For the completion of the project, the company had earlier sought a soft loan from the government. In 2021, Minister of Urban Development, KT Rama Rao told the Assembly that the metro rail will chug in the old city within two years.
Presently, the metro rail covers a distance of 69.2 km across three corridors, from Miyapur to LB Nagar, from Jubilee Bus Station (JBS) to MGBS and from Nagole to Raidurgam.