Two urban development authorities in pipeline

Karimnagar: No district in the State has two urban development authorities. But it will be a reality soon in case of Karimnagar district as the State government has began groundwork to carve out Karimnagar and Ramagundam urban development authorities keeping in view of growing population and infrastructural needs.

In the last decade, both Karimnagar and Ramagundam cities have witnessed exponential growth, population-wise and city expansion-wise. In fact, both the Corporations have become highly congested and chaotic, with absolute disregard to urban planning in the absence of urban development authorities.

Karimnagar city is spread over an area of 23.5 square kilometres with a population of 2.61 lakh (Census 2011). Situated in the Godavari valley coalfields, Ramagundam city houses one of the largest thermal power stations in south region under NTPC. This apart, the city also houses major industries like Fertilizer Corporation of India, National Fertilizers Limited, Engineers India Limited.

In the absence of proper urban planning, both these cities have been experiencing many civic issues. With land being premium in both these cities, the real estate sector is occupying every inch of land and coming up with commercial and residential constructions. Against this backdrop, the government asked the district administration to prepare proposals to form two urban development authorities.

Confirming that government had instructed them to prepare a draft, Karimnagar Municipal Commissioner Krishna Bhaskar told The Hans India: “There is a need for urban development authority to keep a tab on illegal constructions and to ensure proper amenities and infrastructural facilities to the people.”

He said that they have instructions to include a larger area under the urban development plan so that planning could be done with a viewpoint to address the needs of next 30 years. The proposal prepared for the Karimnagar urban development authority area included Sircilla, Huzurabad and Husnabad towns, according to sources in the administration.

The proposal will be sent to the district collector’s clearance before sending it to the government, it’s learnt. Ramagundam Mayor K Laxminarayana said: “We have sent the details of adjoining mandals Manthani, Peddapalli, Kamanpur, Julapally, Kalwa Srirampur and others – to the government. After examining the geographical viability, the government is expected to take a decision.”