The civic body offices in the peripheral areas of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits lie in a deplorable state. The offices lack basic infrastructure required for day-to-day functioning, which in turn, correspond with the shabby state of roads and sanitation in the Municipal Corporation limits.
The idea behind the formation of these corporations, which were established by the State government in 2019, was to ensure that the peripheral areas of the city, including the entry and exit points, have narrow roads, and no sanitation issues or illegal layouts.
Right from the peripheral areas to the core city, the roads, sanitation and other developments should project a uniform development, indicating a global city, but the current situation shows a contrasting picture.
Of the seven Municipal Corporations – Meerpet-Jillelguda, Bandlaguda Jagir, Badangpet, Peerzadiguda, Jawaharnagar, Boduppal and Nizampet – formed in July 2019, several corporation offices don’t even have proper buildings for day-to-day functioning.
Many of the sections like Engineering, Town Planning, Property Tax are functioning in the makeshift tin sheds.
Sources say that these corporations were created to provide political employment for the ruling party leaders and it has been successful to some extent in this regard. A visit to Meerpet-Jillelguda Municipal Corporation office shows the poor state of infrastructure.
The one-storied three-in-one office accommodates the post office, office of the HMWS&SB manager and some rooms for the Mayor, Commissioner and staff. The Citizen Service Centre located inside the office is defunct.
The staff said that they are forced to work in the small rooms as there is no alternative office. There is a need for a multi- storied building where all sections can be located under one umbrella. A similar scenery can be witnessed in the office of Meerpet Municipal Corporation, which lacks basic infrastructure and has no parking facilities, while the first floor has temporary tin sheds.
The roads, which were damaged due to rains last year in the Jillelguda-Meerpet limits, are yet to be fixed, while the state of sanitation is in a poor state with heaps of garbage found in the corporation limits.
The Badangpet Municipal Corporation office is no different. Though it is a two-storied building, the first floor accommodates the offices of the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Commissioner.
Sections like Revenue, Sanitation, Town Planning, Property Tax, and the Citizen Service Centre are located in temporary tin sheds in a congested place where citizens come to pay tax and to know the status of building permissions.
There is hardly any place for the visitors to sit. Although there is a large open space with raised pillars, no step has been taken to construct anything in that space due to the lack of funds. The open space is used to dump pipelines and other materials giving a shabby look to the office.
The staff admitted that the office is very small and congested, and claimed that it’s difficult to work in small tin sheds. The Municipal Administration Department should take steps to construct the incomplete building at the earliest so that all wings can be located in the same building, they say.
Same is the case with Bandlaguda Jagir municipal corporation office located near Himayatsagar, which only has a working Citizen Service Centre, while all the other wings are found missing. The reason cited for the same is that only a few residents visit the office.
The other wings are located in different areas and people are forced to travel long distances to get their grievances addressed. The only solace is that the office of Peerzadiguda municipal corporation has good infrastructure comprising all the subsidiary wings and provides all the facilities to the citizens.
The population in the municipalities is increasing hence the number of wards were increased.
When #KhabarLive contacted the MAUD officials, they said that wherever there is a lack of infrastructure, they would be upgraded and new buildings, wherever required, would be built so that all the office sections are located in one place. But the reality is quite opposite to their clarification. #KhabarLive #hydnews
