Telangana’s urban policy revamp aims for world-class cities by 2050

Telangana 2050

• A new urban policy will guide city development by 2050
• A 55 km stretch along the Musi river will be transformed under a PPP model
• Monorail, city-to-ORR connectivity, and cluster-based planning will create a comprehensive city with improved transportation options
• The plan aims to attract entrepreneurs and investors

Hyderabad: The Telangana government’s master policy 2050 plan involves an urban policy, development of Musi riverfront, commuting models, and development of comprehensive cities. These development plans, focused on generating economic opportunities, attracting entrepreneurs and investors, will be based on sustainable model, said Telangana Minister for Industries.

He was addressing the gathering as the chief guest at the fifth edition of CII Telangana Infrastructure and Real Estate Summit, organised by CII Telangana, in Hyderabad on Thursday.

“Our 2050 policy plan is about sustainable development. Infrastructure, industrial development and real estate projections have to be based on sustainable model as we will be competing with the world. We will be coming up with an urban policy for how our city should look by 2050. As of now there is no urban policy on how the sewage line should be drawn and so on. We will not be competing with Indian cities but with the world nations that are similar in size to Hyderabad,” said D Sridhar Babu, Minister for IT, Industries and Commerce, Government of Telangana.

The minister further informed that their department has inaugurated a pavilion for consultants to come forward and express their views on development of Musi riverfront. Speaking on the government’s proposed plan for developing Musi river he said that a key component of this initiative is the development of a 55 km stretch on the Musi riverfront under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model which will feature amusement park, water sports, street vendors, business area, and a shopping mall.

“We would want to work on a PPP model to develop Musi river into a tourist destination as plans are on to discuss our vision with Disney amusement park. At the same time we would like to integrate local vendors into our plans of development. The development will focus around generating economic opportunities, attracting entrepreneurs and investors to create a combination of commercial activities as a result of which job creation is the end goal. As we discussed about the sustainable model, environment conservation and ecological balance at Musi river figures in our plan. Overall aesthetic appeal in ecological value of the river front will be taken into account,” he highlighted.

The minister further spoke about layered development of the city which includes different commuting model such as mono rail, connectivity from city to ORR followed by Hyderabad Regional Ring Road and cluster-based planning. “We want to create a comprehensive city. We are looking for anchor partners to develop these on PPP model. Post RRR we are going to bring in agri-based industries too,” he informed.

The Minister also said that the government has entered MoUs with six companies at Davos who are looking at setting up their data centre here. The data centres are likely to come up around four parts of the city.

Dana Kishore, Principal Secretary, MA and UD, Government of Telangana in his keynote address highlighted that the government is dedicated to implementing the Sustainable Urban Resilience for the Next Generation (SURGe) concept. He called for knowledge sharing between the government and industry bodies for developing the city. The Principal Secretary also informed that Expression of Interest will be called soon for the development and planning of Musi riverfront.