Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has approved development and restoration of three lakes to private entities under CSR. The GHMC standing committee approved the proposals to hand over Kotha Cheruvu, Kotha Kunta and Ranglal Kunta to private players at a meeting held on Wednesday.
Officials said an MoU was signed with United Way of Hyderabad and Rotary Club for the restoration of lakes. This isn’t the first time restoration of lakes has been done using CSR funds. Previously, the highly-polluted Kamuni Cheruvu lake in Moosapet was restored by Cyber City Builders and Developers.
The GHMC also sanctioned Rs 16 crore to restore Komati Konda, Gosai Kunta, HMT lake, Gopi Cheruvu, Ramanna Cheruvu, Chinarayuni Cheruvu, Banda Cheruvu, Pedda Cheruvu, Kotta Kunta, Thimmakka Cheruvu, Medi Kunta and Chinna Pedda Cheruvu. Sources said the GHMC was looking to involve more private players in the restoration and development of the lakes.
Most recently, minister for municipal administration and urban development KT Rama Rao directed officials to hand over the responsibility of lake development to real estate developers within 500 metres of their planned layout or mega projects.
The HMDA said in January that lake development in the city will be integrated with the layout and building permissions to fix accountability. However, activists questioned the move saying it is a well-known fact that real estate developers were eating away the lakes by developing ventures in the buffer zones.
Officials admitted that they were yet to ascertain the full tank level of hundreds of lakes within the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority limits. However, officials cite that the new regulations will ensure that new constructions will become wary of discharging sewage into the lakes.
“There are many private players showing interest in restoring polluted lakes under the CSR initiative. More such approvals will be sent to the standing committee for their perusal,” a senior GHMC official told TOI. (Source: Times of India)
