Municipal Corporation blow for green drive

By V. N. Harinath

HYDERABAD, NOV. 24. Over a period of time most of the old settlements in the twin cities like Basheerbagh, Jambagh, Ranibagh, Kundanbagh and Moosarambagh have disappeared. Sadly, they have been replaced by concrete jungles in the shape of RCC buildings, multi-storeyed commercial and residential complexes.

This `concretisation' of the city has destroyed the ecological balance and adversely changed the weather conditions, forcing people to long for the good old days when beautiful `baghs' reigned supreme.

Lovers of greenery need not lose heart now. They have a willing partner in the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) which is offering to develop parks in 709 colonies and open spaces under a three-year scheme.

The scheme, to be taken up by the Urban Forestry wing of the MCH, envisages development of parks in colonies if the colony welfare associations give consent letters for their maintenance. The MCH would develop and hand over the parks to associations for subsequent maintenance.

For three years after putting up the parks, the MCH would contribute its share towards maintenance cost at the rate of 75 per cent, 50 per cent and 25 per cent in the first, second and third years respectively. After three years the colony welfare associations would take up the total maintenance of the park.

Dr. P. K. Mohanty, MCH Commissioner and special officer, told The Hindu that the parks would be developed in only such colonies which have fully paid property tax (self-assessment), those which are genuinely interested in raising/maintaining them and those which give the stipulated consent letters.

According to him, 471 of the 709 colony parks/open spaces had been developed into tree parks. The remaining 238 have been set asides for colony parks. The colony park development scheme taken up in 1999 envisages putting up 50 parks in 2001-02.

As many as 85 colony welfare associations have offered to take up maintenance of colony parks if they are developed by the MCH. Concept plans have been prepared for these parks by engaging landscape architects.

Dr. Mohanty, who inaugurated a park in the Methodist Colony on Thursday, said so far 13 parks had been completed and were being jointly maintained by the MCH and the associations. The civic body had drawn up plans to develop parks in 16 colonies in a big way.

They are to come up in Professors Colony, Madhava Nagar Colony, Shoeb Memorial Colony, Malakpet Colony, Lokayukta Colony, Lakshminagar Colony, Model Colony, Venkatrambagh Colony, UBI Colony, Mithilanagar, Madhuranagar, Maruthinagar, Vengal Rao Nagar, Kalyan Nagar, Srinagar Colony and Jubilee Hills.

These parks are to be provided with boundary walls with grills and gates, water source with electrical and pump connections, jogging paths, cement benches, illumination, lawns/greenery, tool rooms, fibre glass dustbins and children's playing equipment.

The park inaugurated in the Methodist Colony, Begumpet, by the MCH on Thursday.

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