Telangana Chief Minister KCR focuses on Karimnagar to turn it as smart city, rather than Hyderabad, which is already in a better position than Karimnagar.

While Smart cities scheme is being implemented and the Centre included Hyderabad in the list, KCR is keen on replacing Hyderabad with Karimnagar.

With the same intention, he wrote a letter to the Central minister Venkaiah Naidu saying that, funds that are being allotted to the smart cities, will just be sufficient to meet the basic needs.

Such basic needs are already available in the semi-developed city like Hyderabad. So instead of Hyderabad, the funds would best benefit to those areas, which are under-developed.  

“Centre is allotting Rs. 100 crores every year for the smart cities. These are not sufficient for several developmental activities in the main cities like Hyderabad, Warangal etc. For example, for drainage issue alone, thousands of crores are needed. But as the Centre is only providing Rs. 100 crores, it would be tough,” KCR opined.

“In five years, if at all, the Centre is estimated to provide Rs. 500 crores, those money would be sufficient to implement any one scheme, but not at all possible to make a smart city,” KCR added.      

He thus proposed Karimnagar, to include in the smart cities scheme and he even made several other proposals, regarding the smart cities issue.  

On the other side, the oppositions opine that, KCR is trying to ignore Hyderabad, and is concentrating on Karimnagar, for the various unknown benefits. Even a few of the TRS leaders in the party, reportedly hinted CM, that this action is expected to show a negative reaction among Hyderabad public.

By Phani Ch