‘GHMC spent 23 per cent funds in 5 years’

HYDERABAD: Explaining possibly why Hyderabad gets inundated so easily with merely a brief spell of rains, a latest RTI reply has revealed that of the Rs 210 crores sanctioned for naala restoration works in South Zone in the last 5 years, only 23% of the funds were actually utilised. Data procured in the RTI maps the 49 naala restoration works across South Zone of GHMC. Work was done only on 22 projects.

The RTI reveals that since 2014, the GHMC’s expenditure in this regard was only Rs 49.15 crores, a little less than a quarter of the total Rs 210.24 crore. Several sanctioned works, such as construction of box drains, conversion of open naalas into box drains and construction of retaining walls, were never greenlit. Most notably, major works on the Murikinala near Yakutpura Railway Station, near Palle Cheruvu and near Sunny Garden, have been kept peding.

Says Kareem Ansari of Yourti.in, “It is a known fact that most of these channels overflow every year and are a major cause for concern among locals. It is strange to see that most of these projects had massive sums allocated and sanctioned to them, however, the expenditure column remains empty.” It must be noted that GHMC Commissioner Dana Kishore had directed the Chief Engineer in September to ‘change their working style’ and complete all sanctioned works on priority.