Hyderabad AQI ‘Alarming’, Taking Steps from Going the Delhi Way: Sridhar Babu
Sridhar Babu said while he had not come across reports that AQI levels crossed 350 in Hyderabad, taking note of Friday’s AQI of 174, said “the situation is alarming. Definitely alarming.”
Hyderabad: The government on Friday said the air quality levels in the city were “alarming” and that it was alive to the situation and was taking steps to prevent Hyderabad from becoming another Delhi.
This observation came in the Assembly from minister D. Sridhar Babu, who was responding to AIMIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi pointing out that air quality index (AQI) levels in Hyderabad were plummeting. “This is a serious cause for concern. Are we doing something about it? Is there some plan? Tell us what is being done about air pollution,” Owaisi asked during a discussion on three Bills relating to expanding the GHMC limits and delimitation of wards introduced by the government in the House.
Sridhar Babu said while he had not come across reports that AQI levels crossed 350 in Hyderabad, taking note of Friday’s AQI of 174, said “the situation is alarming. Definitely alarming.”
He said the government was taking several steps including relocating polluting industries, introducing electric powered buses for public transport, and expanding the Metro Rail services with a 360-degree coverage approach. “We should not become another Delhi,” he said and assured the House that all necessary measures will be implemented to address the issue air pollution in the city.
He said the merger of the 27 urban local bodies (ULBs) into GHMC area, and the delimitation of wards will not centralize power as feared by some members. In fact, it will be the other way round with decentralized offices, he said.
The goal of the exercise, he said, was to ensure uniformity in services in the peripheral ULBs, to overcome fragmented governance and introduced integrated services. This decision will also ensure uniformity in resource pooling as the core of the GHMC generates more funds but the ULBs adjacent to it do not, he said.
He also said that there were no plans to raise any taxes after the merger and that the people would not face any additional burden. Sridhar Babu assured the House that once the systems were in place, the implementation will follow but only after the required manpower was made available at all offices.
The House later passed the Telangana Municipalities (Fourth Amendment), the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (Amendment), and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (Second Amendment) bills through voice vote.