With limited funds, QQSUDA on verge of redundancy

Hyderabad, Oct 7 (INN): At a time when the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority and the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board are crying hoarse over shortage of staff and funds for developing and maintaining the city, one government department entrusted with the same task is sitting idle with no projects at hand. While the offices of the other three departments bustle with complainants and harried officials, the offices of the Quli Qutub Shah Urban Development Authority remain serene, with no visitors and almost little movement for hours, save the turning of the ceiling fans and the hands of the clock.

Seemingly, the ceiling fans move to provide comfort to the sleeping officials, while the clock is necessary to tell them that it is time to get up and return home. The QQSUDA office was not always so serene. The Authority did enjoy its moments in the sun at the time of KV Ramanachary. During his decade in charge as Secretary and then as Administrator of the Authority, many important development projects were taken up. Among these, the Quli Qutub Shah Stadium, the Government Community Hospital (Barkas) with 30 beds, many school buildings, the Quli Qutub Shah Block at the Osmania General Hospital, the Quli Qutub Shah ITI, the 31-acre Deccan Park, along with the Charminar Pedestrian Project, the project to widen the road between Falaknuma and Charminar were taken up.

With Mr Ramanacharys transfer and promotion, the QQSUDA had lost the one man with enough zeal to push the lethargic staff of the QQSUDA into action. Sadly, the government was forced to shift some of the projects initiated by Mr Ramanachary to the GHMC, which is short-staffed, effectively scuttling them. Some of these projects are road widening, horticulture, town planning.

One of the important duties of the present QQSUDA Administrator R Kishore Babu (IRTS), who has been in charge since the past one year, is the generation of funds from the state government to take up the development works which are part of the Authoritys responsibility. According to sources, Mr Kishore Babu rarely attends office, to the extent that he is not seen for months at end. QQSUDA Secretary K Raghunatha Rao however says that Mr Kishore Babu is busy every workday at the Secretariat, trying to get the government to grant more funds for development works.

Mr Raghunatha Rao says that the efforts of Mr Kishore Babu were the only reason that the government had released a one-time additional budget of Rs 8.5 crore last year, after six years. This had led to some of the pending works being completed. The Secretary adds that Mr Babu is trying his best to get an additional Rs 25 crore this year for the Authority. Just 87 of the 125 vacant posts in the QQSUDA have been filled while no efforts have been made to recruit staff for the vacant posts. The QQSUDA hires temporary employees on daily wages if and when needed.

The 27 posts of Administrator, Secretary, Chief Engineer, Accounts Officers are filled by the government with officers on deputation. Some of the officials told INN that QQSUDA is given Rs 9 crore (planned and non-planned budget) as development fund per annum, which is too little to effectively carry out planned development works. Of this Rs 9 crore, over Rs 3.5 crore goes into paying salaries, pensions and other expenditure for running the Authority. The QQSUDA authorities are at a liberty to use remaining Rs 5.5 crore for development works.

This is obviously not enough. barely enough, The Authority had expected a share of the special financial package of Rs 3,500 crore for development works in the Old City, which was announced by former chief minister late YS Rajasekhara Reddy. His tragic death has put the package on the back burner, leaving the QQSUDA officials of little hope to put some of their planned development works into practice.

The Authority has presently only one project on hand, the Government Junior College Building in Golconda, being built by the funds allotted to the Hyderabad Parliament member. Other minor projects like road repair works or cleaning of sewerage are also taken up by the QQSUDA, but these are rare and far between.

This is the state of the QQSUDA, which has the Chief Minister as its Chairman and the Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development as the Vice-Chairman. The total neglect of the department can be gauged by the fact that no Board meeting has been convened since the past 12 years.

The QQSUDA was constituted as a Development Agency (as a Society) during the year 1981 and Registered under AP (Telangana Area) Public Societies Registration Act 1350 Fasli for the overall development of Old City of Hyderabad

According to the QQSUDAs Memorandum of Articles of Association, the Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister has the power to formulate policy matters and also review its performance.

The Authority has been given powers to plan and promote the development of Old City of Hyderabad especially by creation of civic infrastructure like sewerage, CC roads, SW drains, community halls, hospitals, school buildings, bore wells etc, in the jurisdiction over 64.5 Sq Km comprising of eight Assembly and three Parliamentary Constituencies. With the staff at the QQSUDA sitting idle, the government can do well to merge it with the GHMC and thus utilise the manpower and resources available there.