Pilot project to help locate addresses

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, SEPT. 29. How many times have you given up on house numbers in the city? No count, that's for sure. The endless rounds of the lanes and bylanes, repeated pleas to the local people to guide you to your destination and finally frustration that weighs you down. We've seen it all, right?

Not anymore. At least in Circle VI of the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad where the painstaking efforts of its House Numbering Cell personnel are going to pay the dividends, sooner than later. "And a good ending it will be. There will be clarity and orderliness which was missing in the house numbering system all these years," affirmed the Cell's director, Mr. K. Purushottam Reddy, here on Saturday.

For that, they had to search for the veritable needle in the haystack for months together. On the rationalisation of the house numbering system, Mr. Reddy said the pilot project was taken up in 14 localities of Circle VI spread over 5.42 sq.km -- Hillfort, Fateh Maidan, Gunfoundry, Abids South, Boggulkunta, Troop Bazar, Sultan Bazar, Badi Chowdi, Esamia Bazar, Gowliguda North, Jambagh, Goshamahal and Agapura.

"The entire work, including allotment of bye-numbers, has been completed and we have called for objections and suggestions from the public, if any. The final notification will be issued on November 1 and the new numbers will come into practice from December 1," he said.

The entire City has been delineated into 254 localities and 133 main roads for the purpose with distinct boundaries to make identification easier. "Certain areas are known after main roads like M.G. Road, R.P. Road etc. The localities that abut these main roads have been delineated and given numbers. Likewise, houses in identified localities have also been numbered in a sequence," he explained.

A five-digit locality code number is given for localities wherein the first two digits represent the ward number and the rest the area number. Similarly, main roads have been given unique code numbers for identification.

Clarity, he said, was the key. For example, a house number in Gowliguda which was a mind boggling 4-8-406-408-413 had changed to 115, Street No. 2, Gowliguda!

"In the old system, house numbers were neither in a series nor were assigned in a systematic manner. They were allotted on an ad hoc basis as and when the property was assessed for house tax," he said.

The new system does away with all kinds of ambiguity. "Firstly, houses are numbered in a series. Even vacant plots are given numbers. For example, in cases of big plots where there was a likelihood of ownership by two or more individuals, we have reserved surplus numbers to ensure there was no confusion later."

Each apartment or commercial complex would be given a number and its occupants - flats and shops - assigned bye-numbers. The street nearer to the main road was made Street No. 1 and the numbering would begin from a point that is nearest to the centre. Similarly, numbering on main roads was done from one end to the other and back. For example, on the Abids-Basheerbagh stretch numbering began at Abids police station, reached Basheerbagh junction and returned to the police station, this time from the Nizam College side. What more, the areas have been given different colour sign boards for that distinctive look.

But, assigning of new house numbers does not confer ownership rights, he cautions. "The exercise is purely for statutory and administrative purposes, not to forget the convenience of the general public."

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