'Irrelevant' HMDA may get scrapped

HYDERABAD: Are the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority's (HMDA) days numbered? Indications emerging from the Telangana government point to the fact that the urban development authority is likely to get scrapped and many of its wings merged with other agencies.
Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is reportedly unhappy with HMDA's functioning and he openly expressed displeasure over the state of affairs
in a couple of review meetings.He is reportedly of the view that the authority does not have relevance any more.
"With limited revenue sources, the authority has been passing through a financial crisis and has no new projects on hand. It took Rs 1,084 crore from various financial institutions for construction for PVNR Expressway and other projects. Of this, it borrowed nearly Rs 700 crore from Hudco, Rs 150 crore from Indian Bank and Rs 234 crore from APFIDC. It has been paying about Rs 50 to Rs 60 lakh a month towards interest and principal for the loans," a senior HMDA official said.
While HMDA's revenue is about Rs 15 crore a month, derived mostly from rents from commercial complexes, it spends Rs 3 crore towards employees' salaries.
"The earlier chief ministers of united AP were also unhappy with the performance and happenings in the authority, especially allegations of corruption against the officials. As a result, no additional project was given to the HMDA in the past five years," a senior HMDA official said.
Sources in the government said there is a thinking that all building permission powers should be given to GHMC and merge planning with Director of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) which also does work similar to HMDA such as preparation of master plans for districts.
In its earlier avatar as Huda (Hyderabad Urban Development Authority), which was later expanded to form the HMDA in 2008, the authority had its hands full. Between 2006 and 2010, it was tasked with the responsibility of generating revenue for the state by auctioning land, but due to a slump in real estate activity in the past few years it has lost its relevance.
The HMDA, which came into existence in 2008, a year after formation of Greater Hyderabad,
was later confined only to giving building permissions in certain areas and preparation of master plans. As of now, the authority has power to give building permissions (Ground+3 floors and above) in the areas outside of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits.
Since most of the construction activity is happening only in the GHMC's jurisdiction, there is a thinking that all building permission powers should be given to GHMC. The government is also thinking of merging the planning wing with the Director of Town and Country Planning (DTCP), which does work similar to HMDA such as preparation of master plans for districts.
The HMDA's planning wing is currently integrating various master plans prepared by it - MCH (core area), erstwhile Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (Huda), Hyderabad Airport Development Authority and Cyberabad Development Authority and master plan for extended HMDA areas. It is also helping the Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) in preparation of a master plan for the Cantonment area.
Apart from this, the other major ongoing project of the HMDA is the Outer Ring Road (ORR). The project is nearly completed, except a stretch of about 11 kilometres. Another of its projects, the cleaning up of Hussainsagar, taken up with financial assistance of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), was completed a month ago.
But sources in MA&UD department said scrapping an urban development authority is not an easy decision as many powers enjoyed by GHMC are derived from the AP Urban Areas Development Act. HMDA was created under the Act and if the body is scrapped, it will raise questions over many of GHMC's urban development functions as it is a civic body and not an urban authority.