Humble Beginnings
A city with rich history and magnificent olden structures is slowly became host to some of the most modern buildings, a blend of both the bygone kingdoms and the new corporate revolution. To boost Hyderabad’s development, the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu successfully bid for the National Games in 2002 and the Afro Asian games in 2003, along with a strong bid to create a Formula One circuit in the state. These endeavours led to the development of efficient sports infrastructure in Hyderabad. The Indian School of Business (ISB) and IIT were also established in a similar endeavour to boost modern education.
The resulting urban agglomeration now has an area of over eight hundred square kilometres and consists of Hyderabad and other municipal entities surrounding it. The city population is expected to exceed one hundred and thirty six lakhs in 2021.
As development picked up pace at the end of the nineties, the old city has declined and the newer peripheral regions started to gain prominence. By 2001, the city was the sixth largest urban agglomeration in India; and during the last decade it registered a growth of 32%.
Developed land on the outskirts of Hyderabad has been utilised for large scale development just outside the Cybercity. The city itself is on its way to become the leader in e-governance. It has been predicted about Hyderabad that it would become a leading information-based society in the next two decades.
Rapid industrialisation has led to the increase in land prices while simultaneously driving the demand for infrastructure development. Commercial growth, therefore, has been concentrated in the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad area while the metropolis has experienced pressure in residential growth. As workers prefer proximity to the workplace, their daily commute has resulted in the improvement of the road networks as well.
Growth of the IT Sector
Ever since the 1990s, Andhra Pradesh had been promoting itself as a world class IT location and Hyderabad City, as a result, has managed to attract investment from companies such as IBM, Oracle and Microsoft. The Hyderabad Technology Park has seen hundreds of IT companies registering themselves as soon as spaces are available. The objective of this elaborate promotional program has been to attract the right number of companies which together would form a critical mass for the city to develop as a high tech city which would rub shoulders with Silicon Valley and Malaysia’s Multi Media Super Corridor.
During the nineties, several initiatives were taken up by the state government towards promotion of IT sector. These included setting up of IT training institutes, initiatives in e-governance, development of a Hi-Tech city and promoting the Software Technology Park as a preferred destination for private sector companies. Steps were then taken even further to allow the development of a Hardware Park, creation of a Knowledge Park, and establishment of a financial district. The state government started tapping resources to invest in the biotechnology sector and, as a first step towards making the region specialized, a Biotech Park was introduced.
The result of these efforts can be seen in the form of various parks. One called Gnome Valley has been set up to focus on research and training in biomedicine for industrial production. Within this valley are also established the IKP Knowledge Park and Alexandria Knowledge Park with areas of two hundred acres and three hundred acres respectively. These parks cover Ameerpet, Medchal, Uppal, and a number of other parts of the Hyderabad Metropolitan region. The thrust areas of research here include vaccines, bio-informatics, seeds etc. Some of the biggest global pharmaceutical and research firms have setup their offices here. Similarly, a Hardware Park of one thousand seven hundred acres in area is also being developed.
The economic activities particularly related to manufacturing and associated activities, are concentrated in Ramachandrapuram, Patancheru, Balanagar, Uppal, Cherlapalli, Jeedimetla, and Moula Ali. These developments, on one hand, contributed to the economic growth of the city and, on the other hand, are responsible for the spatial growth, particularly the growth of the surrounding areas.
The Tourism Thrust
Having understood the vast potential of the biotech sector, the Government of Telangana has started to focus on tourism. The city is being promoted aggressively to Indians and non-Indians alike and is touted to become a major tourist destination owing to its location and traditional resources. The government intends it to become a major transit hub between Europe and the Far East. According to the tourism policy of the state, the then Andhra Pradesh was predicted to “be a leading tourism destination in India attracting over 2.5 million international tourists and around 70 million domestic tourists” by 2020. The present state government plans to achieve this goal by building upon the inherent strengths of the state and developing high quality tourist infrastructure.
Ongoing Infrastructure Development
In the aid of industrial development, the city of Hyderabad has also started to develop infrastructure to support it. The infrastructure development is being focused on all important areas including roads, flyovers and cityscape, and improving water supply. Since 2007, eight major projects have been completed in the Hyderabad development plan. These include the completion of flyover at Rajiv Gandhi Circle, Green Lands Junction and Chandrayangagutta. The water supply has further been enhanced by the diversion of Krishna water to Secunderabad, construction of additional storage facilities and completion of Krishna Drinking Water Supply Project Phase II.
It must be noted that the main surface sources of water in Hyderabad are Osmansagar on River Musi, Himayatsagar on Esi River, Manjira River and Krishna River. Rainwater harvesting, sewage and water supply are being further developed.
Development of Supporting Infrastructure
To accommodate increased traffic and population inflow, the state government has taken many steps to improve infrastructure. The Infrastructure Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Limited (INCAP) was set up in 2005 to oversee the development of Andhra Pradesh as a whole. The state government had 40% stake in it and it had been established to oversee the development of airports, roads, buildings, medical health and all urban infrastructures in a phased manner.
The Government of Telangana has initiated the development of the Hyderabad Growth Corridor Limited, aiming at the “beautification of traffic islands on Outer Ring Road Project” in Hyderabad City. Once fully developed, this project will render Hyderabad one of the most modern cities in terms of infrastructure.
Where connectivity is concerned, one of the notable projects is the Nehru Outer Ring Road or ORR of Hyderabad, which is an eight-lane ring road expressway with a perimeter of one hundred and fifty eight kilometres. It connects Hi-Tech City, Nanakramguda Financial district, Hyderabad International Airport, Knowledge Park, Hardware Park, Games Village, Singapore Financial District and State Police Academy. The road has been designed to allow vehicles to travel at higher speeds and has vastly improved connectivity and reduced traffic congestion in the arterial roads of the Greater Hyderabad Region. Plans to improve the Inner Ring Road are in place and they would decongest the traffic even further. The longest flyover in the country is currently was constructed to allow high speed access to the airport.
The city is well-connected to all major parts in the west and south with a well-defined network of roads. There is also an established suburban railway system called Multi Modal Transport System – owned and operated by Indian Railways. It connects various stations in and about Hyderabad city.
A Rapid Transit System is currently under development and it will give Hyderabad its own metro train facility to further enhance connectivity. Currently, Telangana State Road Transport Corporation operates buses within the city.
Adding Some Green
Building rules have been amended in 2013 and call for the development of a buffer zone in housing societies to allow the development of service roads and direct access to radial roads will be available only via service roads.
To improve the quality of living standards, the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority is taking many steps to curb all forms of pollution. It has been observed that the particulate matter in air (air pollution) is the maximum in the Charminar area. The state agencies intend to reduce air pollution in other parts of the city as well and have embarked on an ambitious project to strengthen urban greening in community lands, institutional lands and residential colonies. Afforestation efforts are being made in wastelands. Open areas owned by civil and military institutions are being used to create forests. Agro forestry and smaller nurseries are being promoted; greenbelts are being established alongside roads while lake parks, driveway parks and walkway gardens are being established on a massive scale. An Urban Lake restoration plan has also been put into place to minimise water pollution. A drive to make the Musi river pollution free is also underway.
The Hyderabad government is aware that sustainable development is vital for the long term efficacy of its efforts and hence plans have been made for the coming two decades to meet all these goals.
In Conclusion
The Hyderabad Urban Development Authority is pushing the city to become the next Silicon Valley. The State Government of Telangana, and the Government of Andhra Pradesh before it, have put in remarkable efforts to develop the city’s existing infrastructure. The govt. has planned considerable growth of the Greater Hyderabad region and is set to leave Pune and Bangalore far behind in a few years. With eyes both on environmental protection and development, the government is juggling its way past one hurdle after another. If plans are adhered to, Hyderabad is set to become the next big industrial phenomenon of the country.
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