KTR seeks GHMC action plan to free Hyderabad from street dogs menace

HYDERABAD: Telangana MInister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development KT Rama Rao (KTR) on Saturday called on the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials to come up with a plan of action for identifying a permanent solution to free Hyderabad from the stray dogs menace.

The minister participated in the orientation programme for ward officers, organised by Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), as part of the Telangana Good Governance Day celebrations at Hitex in Hyderabad. Speaking on the occasion, KTR referred to the Bagh Amberpet incident where a young boy was mauled to death by rampaging street dogs. He said that he was deeply disturbed seeing the horrific visuals and called the dog menace as ironical in a city that was rapidly progressing on all fronts including space launches, in a reference to Skyroot’s space technology.

KTR made it clear that it was the responsibility of every individual and urged the GHMC officials to take it upon themselves to protect children from dog attacks. Ministers and MLAs should put special focus and react immediately when they come across any stray dog attacks, he said. “It is a shame for everyone including the government if the dog menace remains unabated, he added.

KTR also sought public cooperation of people to develop Hyderabad with world-class facilities and make it a livable city for all sections of the people. He said that self-governance became possible in Telangana after many struggles. “Earlier, there were 10 districts and in a separate Telangana state, the number has now increased to 33 districts. New municipalities, mandals and gram panchayats were also created. With the decentralization of power, governance is brought closer to the people. Governments should work with the aim of solving people's problems. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) strongly believes that city administration could be performed successfully only with the participation of citizens,” the minister commented.

KTR said that Hyderabad was like the heart of Telangana and sought to remind everyone that, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the development programs in Hyderabad progressed at a brisk pace. “About 2.5 million of the state's population of four crores lives in the city of Hyderabad. Telangana covers an area of 12,000 ​square kilometres while Hyderabad city is in a 675-sq km area. More than 25 percent of the state's population is concentrated in an area of ​​675 sq km in Hyderabad. Despite having less than three percent of the country’s population, Telangana managed to bag 30 percent of the national awards,” he observed.

Elaborating further, the MAUD minister said that Telangana had emerged as a role model for the country by fulfilling the basic needs of the people. ‘’A ward in a municipality in the city of Hyderabad has a population equivalent to that of a municipality. But all these days, there is no staff or facilities in the ward like in a municipality. That is why, we are setting up ward offices with different departments with at least 10 members to solve people's problems and provide better services,” KTR said, adding that ward offices would be opened in 150 areas simultaneously on June 16, 2023 as part of the Urban Progress Day.

“People can lodge their civic grievances at these offices. The pioneering initiative will take administration closer to people and detail the main functions of ward offices and job responsibilities of each of the staff members. A Citizens Charter will be released which will detail the time to redress a grievance. This will be displayed at the offices,” KTR said. Asserting that no other metro city in the country had implemented the Ward Office system, the minister expressed confidence in its success and hoped that other cities in the country too would adopt a similar approach in the future.

KTR also called upon the officials to set practical goals and move forward through the ward office. Stating that, since 2014, Hyderabad had witnessed significant changes, he credited the GHMC officials for the acheivements. ‘’Around 8,000 metric tonnes of garbage is segregated per day in Hyderabad. By September this year, Hyderabad is going to be a city that would be fully equipped to handle liquid waste management. We are generating electricity from dry waste. Through wet garbage, around Rs 200 crore is generated per annum, besides effectively treating the waste water,” he said.

KTR asked all the MLAs to coordinate with the corporators to bring every building constructed by the government into use and continue their efforts in protecting the lakes in their respective constituencies. Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav, MLAs, MPs and other public representatives under the GHMC limits besides GHMC ward officers participated in the event.