GHMC drops BRTS Cites land acquisitions as major hurdle

​Hyderabad: Faced with several hurdles, the GHMC has dropped the proposal of Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), which would have dedicated lanes to enable smooth flow of traffic.

Citing problems like land acquisition, a senior GHMC official said that the corporation had recently dropped the project. However, the corporation is now contemplating making a separate way for ambulances.

The corporation has already widened the roads for taking major projects, including Hyderabad Metro Rail Strategic Road Development Plan (SRDP), he said.

The corporation along with TSRTC has already conducted a survey as instructed by Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister K Taraka Rama Rao and arrived at the decision to drop the BRTS in order to avoid traffic congestion at all SRDP and Metro rail corridors across the city.

The official told The Hans India that to take up BRTS project, the corporation would have to acquire at least 10,000 properties across the city. The land acquisition would put heavy burden on the civic body as it involves huge amounts and causes severe public inconvenience, he said.

Originally, the corporation had proposed to take up the project to make first BRTS corridor through Mehdipatnam- Gachibowli Crossroads- Financial District- Botanical Gardens- Kothaguda Crossroads and Miyapur.

The second corridor was proposed from Mehdipatnam- Malaysian Township and JNTU. It was envisaged to be use Volvo articulated buses, unlike other cities. The Corporation would now focus more attention on speedy completion of Metro rail project and taking up SRDP, the official said.