Drive to make clean footpaths

Hyderabad: Telangana state government has cracked a whip on the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials who failed to clear the encroachments on identified busy footpaths in the Greater limits. While one senior GHMC official has already been suspended for the dereliction of duties, the government set deadline for the removal of all encroachments with immediate effect and make the city free from footpath encroachments.

Taking serious note of submitting a false report on encroachment, Municipal Administration and Urban Development department Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar on Wednesday issued orders suspending the GHMC Assistant City Planner Subash for alleged negligence of his duties.

The GHMC had recently taken up a big drive to remove encroachments on all important footpaths mainly at Koti, Dilsukhnagar, Kukatpally, Ameerpet, parts of Jubilee Hills and Banajara Hills. The officials concerned were instructed to clear them within no time.

According to officials, the Hyderabad Metro Rail authorities had asked the municipal authorities about the encroachment of Metro station. The ACP was asked to remove footpath encroachments at the Metro station. The ACP gave a report to the principal secretary that he had not noticed any encroachment at the site. Angry over this, the principal secretary ordered immediate suspension of the assistant city planner. The principal secretary found out that the ACP had failed in his duty of removing footpath encroachment.

The senior official also expressed his unhappiness and displeasure over the lack of involvement of certain civic officials in the upkeep of the city and asked them to set right the things within a week. He told the zonal commissioners, planning officials and AMOs of GHMC that issues relating to sanitation and removal of encroachments should be addressed immediately.

"Road medians are being abused, encroachments on footpaths not being stopped and there is a casual approach on the part of certain officials which amounts to dereliction of duty," he said. He asked the officials to remove unauthorised billboards immediately. He said that the Assistant City Planners should take action against illegal encroachments.

The principal secretary warned that any negligence on sanitation would be viewed seriously. "The sanitation personnel are not seen in the field, proper maintenance of sanitation is not being done, workers attendance is poor and there is no monitoring of workers attendance. The streets are kept unclean for days and garbage is not being lifted regularly," he pointed out.

He asked the deputy commissioners to regularly visit their respective circles and personally supervise sanitation works.On the directions of the MA&UD Secretary, GHMC commissioner Dana Kishore asked the officials to ensure that there is a clear visibility in improvement of sanitation in a week.