Warangal: civic works drags on as KUDA remains headless

Warangal: Notwithstanding the importance of urban development which contributes to sustainable growth through creating a sustainable model, successive governments failed to address the problems arising out of rapid urbanization. What the Kakatiya Urban Development Authority (KUDA) had achieved since its inception in 1982 is something difficult to manifest.

The master plan is its biggest failure till date. It's been over four decades since the last master plan came into existence. Notwithstanding the guidelines that suggest introducing a new master plan after every 15 years, the successive governments failed to do so. Before the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the then KUDA managing committee came up with a draft master plan, christened as Vision-2031, and it was buried in the Secretariat without the then government's approval.

Against this backdrop, the TRS government which promised to roll out a new Master Plan-2041 appointed board members for the KUDA with Marri Yadava Reddy as its head on November 9, 2016. Thereafter, the KUDA that set many deadlines finally released the draft Master Plan – 2041 on May 14, 2018. Later, it was sent to MA&UD Minister KT Rama Rao for his approval on March 11, 2020. Since then the KUDA and the denizens in Warangal have been waiting for the government to issue a gazette on the master plan. Since then nobody knows whether the draft Master Plan-2041 is again gathering dust somewhere in the MA&UD ministry or languishing in the piles of Chief Minister's peshi.

On the other hand, KUDA has been the executing agency of several projects under the Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY), a flagship programme of the Central Government. It still has to execute the second phase of Bhadrakali Lake Foreshore Development Project and Warangal Fort (qila) etc.

Against this backdrop, Marri Yadava Reddy who served five years as the KUDA chairman completed his term on October 31. With the government yet to appoint a new board for the urban authority, it's unclear who would pursue the master plan and other pending projects.

Speaking to The Hans India, Forum for Better Warangal president Pulluru Sudhakar said, "At least this time around the State government should appoint people who are well versed with the issues related to urbanisation in the KUDA Board. Unless the members have expertise in the relevant subject, it's difficult to achieve desired results. The appointment of mere politicians in the board may not serve the purpose at a time when Warangal has been witnessing rapid urban growth." It may be mentioned here that the periphery of KUDA is 171 villages, including 27 villages of erstwhile Karimnagar district, and Warangal Municipal Corporation area comprising 1805.00 sq km jurisdiction.