Hyderabad, October 06: Sluice gates are being proposed for the Hussainsagar to prevent floods to low-lying areas along the lake’s surplus nala. Strangely, the uphill task of clearing encroachments along the nala, the reason for flooding in the city, has been put on the backburner for now.
“Gates are not only the solution for preventing floods to low-lying areas, but they (gates) help in safe discharge of water during rains,” GHMC engineer-in-chief P Pandu Ranga Rao said.
Clearly, inundation of low-lying areas cannot be prevented without removing encroachments abutting the surplus nala. If they are removed, the GHMC can widen the nalas which can take heavy rainfall.
The state government on Sunday announced that sluice gates would be constructed at Tank Bund weir at a cost of Rs 20 crore. The corporation had earlier made similar attempts to provide gates, but did not go ahead as it would serve no purpose unless encroachments are removed.
As per the plan, the irrigation department would take up the sluice gate works while the GHMC would coordinate with departments like Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority and AP Tourism Development Corporation as they are also stakeholders in the works.
Officials said there were about 6,000 encroachments along the seven major nalas like Hussainsagar surplus nala, Murikinala, Picket Nala and Kukatpally nala. Of them, 1,350 encroachments have come up along the Hussainsagar surplus nala. Since 2005, the GHMC could relocate only 400 families.
Interestingly, the Centre had given sanctions of about Rs 200 crore for widening of nalas, but so far the corporation could utilise only Rs 50 crore as contractors could not proceed with the works due to encroachments on the nala beds.
GHMC commissioner S P Singh admitted that they could relocate only 400 families of the total 1,350 encroachments on the Hussainsagar surplus nala. These 400 families were shifted to Kukatpally under the weaker section housing scheme.
At other localities, people are opposing their removal and do not want to go to far-off areas. The town planning wing made attempts to shift them a couple of years ago, but stopped abruptly due to political interference.
The GHMC got stormwater drains master plan prepared for the Greater Hyderabad area by dividing the city into 16 drainage basins. Phase I involves expansion of major nalas, improvement of tanks and other related works which costs about Rs 4,746 crore, while phase II comprises construction of minor drains which costs nearly Rs 1500 crore. The total cost of the project is estimated at about Rs 6,246 crore.
The Centre had sanctioned about Rs 200 crore under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for widening for a length of 31.73 km. But since 2006, the GHMC could spend only Rs 50 crore for widening due to encroachments on nala beds. Even three years after grounding the nala widening works, the officials could do only 30 per cent of the work.
-Agencies