Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister K.T. Rama Rao held a review meeting on monsoon preparedness with officials from various wings of the Municipal department in Hyderabad on Tuesday. He reviewed and issued directions to enhance the measures needed to tackle the situations that arise during monsoons in municipalities across the State.
The Minister issued directives to ensure readiness for any potential situations that may arise during the season. He emphasized on the officials to prioritize prevention of any loss of life. Besides monsoon preparedness, the MA&UD Minister also reviewed the Ward Office system which has been recently inaugurated in GHMC. The Minister spoke to citizens over the phone about their experience of getting issues resolved through the Ward Offices.
At the meeting, the officials apprised the Minister of the ongoing preparations for the rainy season, which have been in progress for some time. They highlighted that safety audits of canals in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and other municipalities across the State were successfully completed.
The preparedness for potential floods and heavy rains in Hyderabad was particularly focused during the meeting. KTR asked the officials about the status of Strategic Nala Development Plan (SNDP) taken up by GHMC. Officials handling the SNDP project said that the majority works undertaken were completed. Compared to the last previous year, several colonies will not witness threats from floods. The Minister asked officials to identify low lying areas to make necessary arrangements such as deploying dewatering pumps and other resources. Also, he asked them to constantly monitor water storage levels in ponds and lakes across the city to prevent overflow.
While reviewing the Ward Office System, the MA&UD Minister said that the system could face teething problems as it is in the inception stage and to resolve the issues. KTR exhorted Zonal Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners to take proactive measures towards this end. The Minister stressed the importance of daily visits to the ward offices to closely monitor the system’s performance and ensure that it is utilized by people. He issued directions to establish an information technology team and to harness technology to enhance efficiency of the system. Further, KTR suggested that all of the departments involved in the system conduct internal review meetings.
During the meeting, KTR personally interacted with a few citizens of Hyderabad over phone. He spoke to the people who lodged complaints with GHMC about the process of the issue redressal, experience of interacting with the municipal corporation. One of the citizens, Ram from GajulaRamaram, said that his feedback was sought after addressing his complaint regarding street lights. He expressed his satisfaction with the prompt resolution of a reported issue regarding street lights. Minister KTR thanked him for sharing his feedback, highlighting the importance of citizen engagement and responsiveness. He was happy with the manner in which the Minister called and inquired.
Additionally, KTR reviewed key projects undertaken by GHMC and the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board, including initiatives such as free water supply and grievance redressal system.
Arvind Kumar, Special Chief Secretary of MA&UD, D.S. Lokesh Kumar, Commissioner, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), M. Dana Kishore, Managing Director of Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) and others attended the meeting.