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Hyderabad: With brand
Hyderabad taking a beating due to the agitation for and against
separate statehood to Telangana for over one year, the Srikrishna
committee has mooted the idea of union territory status to an
enlarged Hyderabad metropolis.
The idea comes keeping in view the unique social base of the
400-year-old city, its image of a growth engine for the regional
and the national economy, social linkages with all three regions
of Andhra Pradesh, unique location, strategic importance and
cosmopolitan identity.
The panel has proposed a union territory of about 12,430 sq km
area, comprising 67 mandals and 1,330 villages of the present five
districts of Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy, Medak, Mahabubnagar and
Nalgonda.
The data obtained from Centre for Environmental Planning and
Technology (CEPT), Ahmedabad, put the population of Hyderabad
metropolitan region in 2001 at 75,86,813 and in 2011 it is
projected to be 1,03,18,302.
All the three regions (Telangana, Andhra and Rayalaseema) will
have geographical contiguity and physical access to Hyderabad
metropolis. It may also house the capitals of both Telangana and
Seemandhra as in the Chandigarh model with a separate Union
Territory administrative set up.
"Since this would be a reasonably larger area with a population of
well over 10 million people, the model could be a mix of
Chandigarh and Delhi union territories i.e. it may have its own
legislative assembly," said the five-member panel.
Within this proposed new Union Territory, all the three
neighbouring regions will automatically piggyback on the economic
engine of Hyderabad metropolis and gain full momentum for
achieving appreciable economic growth and employment.
Since the revenues from the UT will go to the central exchequer,
the central government in consultation with the new states,
representing all the three regions, can work out a mutually
acceptable formula for equitable apportionment of the grants based
on the revenues earned from the Union Territory.
"It is imperative to ensure that there is no de-stabilization of
the economy of Hyderabad, flight of capital or erosion of business
confidence and all stakeholders continue to have safe access to
the city. It would be in the interest of all regions if the
economy of Hyderabad, which is a growth engine for the state and
the national economy, continues to grow rapidly as only economic
growth can create an expansion of employment opportunities."
The current economic inter-linkages of Hyderabad with all regions
need to be fostered and further developed especially in the
context of Hyderabad now having become a hub of the "new economy",
with an international brand image and interface, the report said.
Hyderabad is also a strategically important city for the nation.
It hosts many institutions of excellence and establishments of
strategic importance. These not only source talent from all over
the country, but are also vital from the national security
perspective, it said.
The panel felt that Hyderabad's role as a driver of regional
growth depends on its unique location, advantage of having
concentration of high quality infrastructure from the period of
the Nizams and extending into the present and its current position
in the global economy of IT and ITES. Its role as a driver of
regional growth depends on its position in the global economy of
IT and ITES.
Migrants from the three regions, especially from coastal Andhra,
have contributed substantially to the economic growth of the city
and continue to hold a stake in important businesses, the report
said.
The pattern of Hyderabad's migration and investment reflects a
growing increase in its cosmopolitan identity and social
diversity.
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