GHMC goes tech savvy

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) claims to be the first to use a real-time urban governance monitoring system at any level of government to attend to citizens’ complaints and increase the efficiency of civic services.

The off-site real-time (OSRT) monitoring system uses the ubiquitous cell phone as a major component. GPRS technology allows cellphones to capture real-time images of public servants at work or public sites under inspection, with the date, time and location of the picture. These images are instantly transmitted to a central server and are available in the public domain.

Garbage collection, for instance, which is outsourced to private contractors can be easily monitored using this system. The private contractor collects the garbage and brings it to dumper bins from where it is taken to transfer stations. The corporation takes over from here and transfers the waste to the main dump yards.

Long road ahead for Hyderabad to become Union Territory

The process of creating a Union Territory is as lengthy as that of creating a new state. If Hyderabad, designated the common capital of the bifurcated AP, is to be designated a Union Territory, the Centre will have to enact legislation for this purpose or combine it with the States Reorganisation Bill that will have to be passed for Telangana to become a recognised state. Areas to be brought under the UT will have to be identified and notified in the Bill.

Next, an entry must be made to the first schedule in the Constitution about the new UT. An administrator will then be appointed by the Centre, who will have an adviser and a team of secretaries to help him/her administer the UT.

“In the case of Chandigarh, which is a Union Territory, the governments of Punjab and Haryana had deputed equal number of IAS officers to the team of secretaries,” a senior Central government official said.
 

Telangana effect: Brace for a rise in Hyderabad property prices

Now that the creation of a separate Telangana state is announced, real estate developers in Hyderabad can heave a sigh of relief.

Despite competitive capital values compared with other metros, the Hyderabad real estate market was down in the dumps for the last couple of years with builders holding back projects and property buyers holding out on purchase decisions due to political instability over the bifurcation issue.

While other cities entered a resurgence phase after the 2008 slump, recovery in Hyderabad was marred by political uncertainty and characterised by fewer launches and declining capital values.

Since the residential sector is highly sentiment driven, the Hyderabad market failed to attract buyers.

According to property research firm Knight Frank Hyderabad will take more than two years to absorb the  current unsold inventory of  33,000 housing units.

Capital matters: Ongole getting all set for a bull run

With the chances of the Centre going back on bifurcation of the state becoming bleak, the focus is shifting to the location of the new capital of Andhra Pradesh. The demand of public representatives from Rayalaseema to grant them at least the new capital is likely to complicate matters in the coming days.

The Congress high command's lack of clarity on where the new capital would be located has given scope for another tussle between the remaining two regions, Andhra and Rayalaseema. Though the Congress working committee allowed Hyderabad to remain as joint capital for 10 years, it also made it clear that Andhra Pradesh has to build its own capital and vacate Hyderabad.

Also, the demand for allocation of special fund for construction and development of infrastructure in the capital is likely to intensify trouble. According to sources, the Centre would appoint an experts' committee to study the advantages and disadvantages of various locations for setting up the new capital.

Hyderabad Realtors Rejoice As Political Uncertainty Ended

Real estate developers in Hyderabad feel the decision of the Congress Working Committee and the ruling UPA coalition's coordination committee to accord statehood to the Telangana region will augur well for their business in the long run.

"The business will pick up, as there is an end to political uncertainty over the issue," Rajeshwara Rao, chief executive of the Hyderabad chapter of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India, told Business Standard.

He is confident Hyderabad, which has world-class infrastructure facilities, will be the most attractive destination for large global investors. "It (the decision on statehood) is good for everybody. There will immediately be an inflow of investments into the city," said Narayan Reddy, promoter of Lumbini Constructions.

HMDA ignores illegal layouts

Numerous illegal layouts have mushroomed in the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority jurisdiction over the last five years, to which the civic body turns a blind eye. This year, less than 100 applicants have approached the civic body for layout regularisation. Despite this, the number of unauthorised plots run into thousands.

Most of the applications are for huge residential complexes, gated communities and group housing scheme layouts. A handful of them are for individual residential layouts.

Since 2010, over 2,000 layouts (above 5 acres) have sprung up in the HMDA area. So far the civic body has given final approval for not more than 100 layouts.