Hyderabad, September 27: A first-hand view of the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) and Rajiv Awaas Yojana (RAY) projects was given to Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) corporators.
To understand the nature of the projects, a Powerpoint presentation was given by the HMR Ltd managing director NVS Reddy and additional commissioner for Urban Community Development (UCD), Priyadarshini.
The housing project, plans to make the city slum-free in five years and focuses on giving property rights to slum-dwellers. It would provide basic amenities like water supply, sewerage, drainage, roads, street lighting and other infrastructure in slums and low-income settlements.
The Metro Rail project was explained as part of a comprehensive and integrated traffic solution. The three routes, along with interchange and integration with existing rail terminals, MMTS stations and bus depots was also discussed.
Salient features of the HMR such as elevated stations at 1 km intervals (66 stations) [Italic] , maximum and average speeds of 80 kmph and 34 kmph, air-conditioned coaches and frequency of 3-5 minutes for trains was explained.
Doubts of corporators regarding how the project might affect private properties were also clarified. NVS Reddy said that only 100 feet wide road is required and after completion, only about 8 feet of central median width would be occupied by metro rail pillars. Width of the elevated viaduct would be about 35 feet which were not going to disturb road traffic, according to Reddy. He said land acquired for the project was to accommodate depots and parking areas. Commercial usage would be allowed on stations once they were operational. Many pedestrian-friendly facilities like skywalks and ramps would also be built.
Mayor Banda Karthika Reddy, GHMC commissioner Sameer Sarma, other corporators and senior officers of the GHMC were present.
–Agencies