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HUDA Changing And Adapting With Times
Posted by Srini Uppala | December 28, 2007 | 509 views
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Loading ...From a planning and layout development agency to meet the residential requirements, HUDA has donned many roles, says M. L. MELLY MAITREYI.
Photo Courtesy: The Hindu
Future ahead: HUDA over the years has been focussing on infrastructure development
The year 2007 saw a significant shift in the image of Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA). From a predominantly planning and layout development agency since its inception to meet the residential requirements of people under its Sites and Services scheme where it would identify land and develop layouts and allot them to the applicants, HUDA over the last few years has been focussing its attention on infrastructure development.
Just as State Capital started emerging as the new IT destination in the late 1990s, Government was quick to realise the need to improve the infrastructure in tune with the requirements of the IT, BPO and MNCs, providing office and commercial space. Thus started the development of Hi-Tech City and HUDA created a separate Cyberabad Development Authority with special zonal regulations to develop it as the model city with world class standards.
Though the area did not develop strictly in accordance with the CDA regulations with builders seeking relaxation in the road widths, FSI, setbacks, it did become the new face of Hyderabad, reflecting its steady growth as IT hub.
Around this time HUDA shifted its focus from developing HUDA layouts to identifying prime lands and putting them for auction to generate resources for its mega infrastructure project, the Outer Ring Road, and others like flyovers, parallel roads, spinal and radial roads.
Enjoying demand
The only layout developed by HUDA in the recent years was Nandagiri Hills in the Jubilee Hills and HUDA Enclave in Madhapur. As HUDA layouts always enjoyed demand because of the trust people have in layouts developed by government agencies, the authority put the plots in Nandagiri Hills for auction as demand from buyers was more than the supply.
But what no one expected then was that HUDA auctions would end up adding fuel to the real estate prices elsewhere. Nandagiri Hills was a test case when unheard of prices were quoted in a range of Rs.30,000 per sq. yard to Rs.60,000 per sq. yard.
There were allegations that prices at HUDA auctions were deliberately jacked up by realtors to increase the value of their own ventures and many bidders who quoted fancy prices failed to pay the amounts. While HUDA learnt its lesson and increased EMDs with a condition that the bidders would forego their amounts if they failed to pay up to check manipulators, the real estate market started booming with NRIs pumping in money to own property in Hyderabad believing in its growth potential.
As HUDA became busy with its world class projects running into thousands of crores, resource generation became its main agenda to fund the projects and to fill the government coffers and development of new residential layouts was relegated to background.
Along with auction of hundreds of acres of land for IT, commercial, entertainment, residential, institutions, purpose, it started putting its left over plots in the old layouts also for auction.
The only residential layout developed by HUDA in the recent times under the Sites and Services scheme is the Shamshabad layout which HUDA is planning to auction in the new year.
Instead of layouts, HUDA proposed 22 satellite townships along the 162 km ORR for decongesting the core city. Two of them -Tellapur and Srinagar in public private partnership mode, have been finalised. But given the investment on land and infrastructure facilities being planned there, the apartments, duplex houses, would have upmarket prices though they are about 20 to 40 km away from the city. The only assurance from HUDA is 10 per cent of every new layout/township, would be allotted for Economically Weaker Sections.
So it is not HUDA but the newly formed Rajiv Swagruha Corporation that would be meeting the housing requirements of LIG and MIG groups who form the bulk of the population in the extended metropolitan region from the coming year.
As the year 2007 draws to a close, HUDA’s transformation too is complete with infrastructure development replacing its ‘Sites and Services’ scheme as the key focus area.
SOURCES:
The Hindu
Topics: Govt In Action, Infrastructure |
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