Hyderabad: Although Hyderabad is developing rapidly, problems of lack of infrastructure and basic amenities are increasingly arising in various parts of the city. Development is needed not just for Hitec City, but also in areas like Old City, Gowliguda, Amberpet, Sanath Nagar, Khairatabad and Secunderabad, said Union Minister for Coal and Mines, G Kishan Reddy.

Addressing the media after the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (Disha) meeting on Friday, he said that the GHMC and Water Works play a key role in creating city infrastructure. For this, he asked to take steps to ensure no dearth of funds for the two entities.

Further, education and women's welfare are also key parameters for development. Drinking water shortage and drainage issues are commonly recurring problems seen in slums. Further, street lights are needed everywhere in the city, and urgent steps have to be taken for restoration, he said.

Kishan Reddy said that special attention should be paid to the infrastructure development as the population of the city grows and it should be taken as the prime responsibility.

During the meeting, he said a review was conducted on the programs being carried out with central funds and officials concerned were asked to submit complete information for the funds to be received by the state.

"We suggest that the first phase of the metro rail project, which is limited to Afzalgunj, be expanded and proposals for the second, third and fourth phases should be sent to the central government immediately." Once that information is received, it will help get the necessary funds and loans from the central government, he added.

Earlier, the DISHA meeting took place at Dr MCHRD Institute under the chairmanship of Union Minister Kishan Reddy. The District Collector, senior officials of various departments and committee members attended. The meeting took cognisance of the complaint on land encroachment in Film Nagar, Shaikpet mandal. Former MLA Chintala Ramachandra Reddy complained to the Collector that some people had illegally encroached on two acres of government land in Deen Dayal Nagar. He expressed concern over the lack of response despite requesting the authorities several times to construct a compound wall. The Collector ordered the authorities to immediately inspect the site and submit a report on this matter. Kishan Reddy suggested that a GHMC Lands Board be formed to prevent illegal encroachments, and clear orders have been issued to register cases against illegals.

The Union Minister inquired about the process of sanctioning Mudra loans in Hyderabad. He asked the officials as to how many of the first-time applicants for Mudra loans in 17 assembly constituencies of Hyderabad were sanctioned. He ordered the officials and banks to prepare a complete report on the sanction of loans. He inquired about the problems faced by the officials in the land acquisition process for the flyover from Uppal to Ghat Kesar.

He suggested that steps be taken to ensure the speedy completion of the works of this project, which has been undertaken with priority for the convenience of people's travel.

He said that the Amberpet flyover, built at a cost of about Rs 400 crore, will be officially inaugurated by Union Roads and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on May 5. He asked the concerned officials to make advance arrangements to avoid inconvenience to the people on the road under the flyover.