Politicians from all parties, be it Chandra Babu Naidu, KCR, Jagan Mohan Reddy,all boast that they put Hyderabad on international radar with their industrial friendly policies and also developing infrastructute in a big way. They claim Hyderabad is the second capital of India and no other city in the country can match its glory.
KCR always boast that Hyderabad was a developed city even before India thought of developing thanks to Nizam rule which angers all right thinking persons. Everyone know how even a drop of water drown entire city and now with rains showing its fury,lashing out continuously for more than a month, officials and ministers are running from pillar to post unable to hide their heads in shame.
Despite repeated warnings from Minister KTR, GHMC officials cared not to respond on the worse condition of the roads virtually daring the minister. CM KCR who is always trigger happy when it comes to attacking AP CM Chandra Babu, unable to control the situation,threw in the towl and called for Army help when India is mulling its strategies on how to attack Pakistan after the terror strike in Uri,Jammu and Kashmir.
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Politicians and officials starred searching for excuses and started blaming continuous rains rather than owning up their failure on removing illegal constructions, encroachment of lakes, nalas etc. It is comingout not rains but rampant corruption is the reason behind destruction in Hyderabad. The GHMC spent Rs 480 crores of Central funds to remove encroachments from nalas and more money to desilt drains. Just one rain exposed that the money was used to line officials’ pockets. The nalas were blocked, and the city’s roads and many areas went under water.
The GHMC said it spent Rs 200 crore to recarpet over 100 km of roads in June. The torn-apart roads stand proof to the poor quality of material used by contractors that went unchecked by the GHMC’s quality control.The rain has exposed how rampant corruption can damage the city. The GHMC says 2 lakh houses are built on nalas.
The GHMC said it has removed illegal structures along nalas at Balkapur, Kukatpally, Murka, Hussainsagar nalas, Picket, Banjara Hills, Yellareddyguda, Punjagutta, Yousufguda, Nagamaiah Kunta, Kalasiguda, Dandu Mansion and the Chemical nala.But many of these areas were submerged by rainwater. Last June, recarpeting was done at Liberty, Basheerbagh, Abids, Charminar, Aliabad, Chandrayangutta, Dabeerpura, Saidabad, DRDL, Kanchanbagh, LB Nagar, Dilsukhnagar, Amberpet roads and the stretch from Panjagutta to Secunderabad. GHMC is the third most corrupt body in Hyderabad after Transport and Electricity departments.
ACB's senior officer speaking to scribes said “Maximum raids recorded are on Town Planning officers (including city planners, site inspector and grade-3 officers). A majority of them earn money while allocating building permissions (prior to the online system). They were found accepting bribes for issuing building occupancy certificates despite deviations in constructions. Most of the buildings have deviations above 10 per cent. During site inspections, these officers accept money and issue occupancy certificates. The cash is then shared right from the assistant city planner level to site inspectors. Another department that is a cesspool of corruption is Taxation (property tax, commercial tax and trade license). There was also a report in DC regarding a Rs 600 crore scam within the Advertising department.”
He went on to elaborate “Once an officer is caught, he or she is arrested and sent to remand. They can seek bail within a month and then the trial begins. Most officers seek political help in weakening the evidence, the judgment (punishment) is entirely based on the merits of the case. For the GHMC, the competent authority to decide on the case is the principal secretary of the Municipal Administration and Urban Development department. The maximum conviction period for a corrupt officer is seven years in prison.”
GHMC decides bribe rates too. GHMC Town Planning officers charge Rs 50,000. And around Rs 20,000 from this amount goes to local corporators.Once the planning inspector spots an unauthorised under-construction site, a demolition notice is issued. Following that, a bribe is demanded from the builder.In fact, it is the Town Planning officers who direct the builders to approach lawyers in case of demolition or seizure notices.
The bribe rates are in fact, fixed according to the type of building (residential and commercial), number of floors on the structure, area of the site and the deviations. The bribe for commercial structures is more; for residential buildings, the rate depends on the deviations.
Under these shocking facts, it is only a mirage to expect situation will improve in Hyderabad.
