Won’t let Hyderabad turn into another Delhi

Hyderabad: The state government is keen on saving Hyderabad from turning into another Delhi in terms of pollution both air and water. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said, if necessary, the government will not hesitate to take some tough decisions in the interest of the people notwithstanding the attempts of the Opposition creating hurdles in the efforts by the government.

Addressing a Praja Palana Vijayotsavalu event organized by the Transport Department here on Thursday, Revanth Reddy said failure to take advance measures to control pollution levels in Delhi has led to a situation where schools are closed and even Union ministers like Nitin Gadkari stating ‘they were scared to be in Delhi as the pollution was affecting their health’.

He said the Telangana government has decided to buy 3,000 electric buses in the next two years to ensure that the air pollution levels in Hyderabad would drastically come down. He said awareness about the need for shifting to electric vehicles has to be created among the people and government departments as well.

He called upon the officials of the Transport department to prepare a proposal regarding the incentives that need to be given to those autorickshaw drivers who opt for electric vehicles. Revanth said autorickshaws emanate a lot of smoke and as per rules action should be taken against them. “The dilemma is whether to strictly implement the law or not. If implemented, their livelihood is affected and, if not, city air pollution gets impacted,” he said.

The Chief Minister asked the Transport minister to see that autorickshaws running on fossil fuels within ORR and prepare plans to help them to switch over to electric autos within the Hyderabad city.

Unveiling Transport department’s new logo, Revanth said that the government would implement the policy to scrap old vehicles from the next year.

Highlighting the free bus travel scheme as part of one of the guarantees Mahalakshmi aimed at women’s welfare, the CM said that over 115 crore zero tickets were issued after launch of the scheme. On an average each woman saved at least Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000 from the free bus travel scheme, he added.

Earlier during the event, the Chief Minister gave away letters of appointment to candidates who secured jobs in RTC on compassionate grounds. He also handed over orders to companies permitted to come up with vehicle scrapping facilities.