Telangana min KTR announces special drive to remove encroachments of drains in Warangal

Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister of Telangana, KT Rama Rao has announced that a special drive will be conducted in Warangal, Telangana for a month to remove all encroachments of drains. According to Telangana Minister KTR, Rs 25 crore has been allocated for this purpose.

Encroachment of drains

According to the Telangana Chief Minister Office, Principal Secretary (Municipal Administration) Arvind Kumar issued orders to form a Task Force team along with the Warangal Urban district Collector Rajiv Hanmanthu as Chairman, Police Commissioner as Co-Chairman, Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation Commissioner and the Water Resources SE, and Warangal Urban RDO, national Highways Authority SE as members. This committee will focus on locating and removing the encroachments on floodwater, drainage as well as sewerage canals. As per KTR, Rs 25 crore will be provided to fund the restoration of the infrastructure and roads that were damaged by the rains and flood.

KTR along with other officials toured Warangal as directed by the Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao. A review meeting was also held with officials at the NIT campus on the same. During the tour, the local residents unanimously told them that the encroachments of drains resulted in inundation of roads and flooding of the residential areas.

"We are appointing a District Task Force team under the leadership of the Collector to identify and remove the illegal encroachments of the drains. Principal Secretary (MA) and MAUD Commissioner will monitor the works. One of these two will visit Warangal one day in a week. If they are illegal encroachments, remove them, if they happen to be houses of the poor, assure them that 2 BHK houses will be constructed and given to them as compensation. If the encroachment is registered, pay them the compensation. In any case, remove all the encroachments of the drains, construct retaining walls after so that there will not be any encroachments in future. Remove silt from the Aqua duct Canal of SRSP Canal," said KTR.

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"We have brought in the New Municipal Act to ensure proper development of the Cities. Along with this, a new Master Plan is prepared for Warangal City. We will announce it with acceptance of the CM. With these two, newly TS B Pass also came. Henceforth, constructions in Warangal should be done in tune with the New Act, policies and plans. The development in the city should take place in a planned manner but not in a haphazard way," he added.

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"Based on Chief Minister KCR's instructions, 20 relief camps were set up in Warangal and 4,500 people from the low-lying areas were shifted to these camps. Disaster Response Force is deputed from Hyderabad to Warangal with Boats, and other rescue equipment. KCR wanted to visit Warangal on Monday but decided not to as it would hamper the relief works. Today we assessed the situation and updated the CM. He immediately granted Rs 25 Crore for the relief works, said after the estimates report from the official funds would be released further. Hence the officials should prepare the estimates scientifically," KTR further added.

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(With inputs from ANI)