Telangana Govt to Remodel Storm Water Drains, Surplus Weirs in GHMC

Hyderabad: The unprecedented rains that resulted in the October 2020 floods in Hyderabad wreaked havoc in many ways as we were ill-equipped for such a calamity.

To prevent such incidents from repeating in the future, the Telangana Government on Wednesday (April 7th) sanctioned an amount of Rs 858 crores to Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) for developing and maintaining stormwater drainage and Nala system in the city.

The municipalities around Hyderabad will see the construction of a new drainage system at the cost of Rs 3,500 crores. The Telangana Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao announced this week that a comprehensive drainage network would be constructed in the municipalities around Hyderabad.

Last October, the city experienced unprecedented rains, which triggered flash floods for over a week, causing major inundation in many low-lying areas, affecting around 40,000 families.

These flash floods were attributed to the inadequacies in the existing stormwater drainage (SWD) system, including encroachment in the natural flow of water, which needs a thorough revamp of the drainage system considering the exponential expansion of the city in recent decades.

To put an end to the consequences of flooding in the future and to minimize the damages, the Telangana government has established a Strategic Nala Development Programme (SNDP) to plan, develop and maintain a comprehensive stormwater drainage/Nala system in Hyderabad.

After carrying out an extensive study of the existing Nala and the stormwater drainage (SWD) system, the officials have identified the critical narrow points, encroachments on Nala's, trunk mains, and feeder Nala’s.

A report was submitted following which the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) was ordered to take up works on a priority basis and in mission-wise format.

The plan, which includes remodeling of drains, and construction of surplus weirs, has received administrative clearance for Rs 858 crore from the state government. It covers the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and Hyderabad Urban Agglomeration (HUA). The Strategic Nala Development Programme (SNDP) recommended different works in peripheral ULBs as well.

To speed up the work, the project has been split up into 15 different packages, with tenders to be announced shortly, officials said. In an annexure, the Telangana government has mentioned in detail all the works that will be carried out and the money that has been allotted for the same. The list is given below.

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) zone wise and ULBs funds allocations details;

Secunderabad zone: Rs. 163 crore

Kukatpally zone: Rs.112.80 crore

LB Nagar zone: Rs. 113.59 crore

Khairtabad zone: Rs.100.26 crore

Charminar zone: Rs. 85.61 crore

Serlingampally zone: Rs.57.74 crore

Meerpet Municipal Corporation: Rs.45.62 crore

Badangpet Municipality: Rs. 23.94 crore

Jalpally municipality: Rs. 24.85 crore

Peddamberpet Municipality: Rs.32.42 crore

Nizampet Municipal Corporation: Rs.98.49 crore

Addressing a Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) meeting, KT Rama Rao said a chief engineer will be appointed as the supervising officer in every GHMC zone to monitor work on cleaning Nala’s, widening them, and removing encroachments.

According to Principal Secretary of Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) Arvind Kumar, the GHMC Commissioner would prioritize the works in the first phase and would initiate necessary action accordingly.