The state government’s investments in irrigation projects are aimed at socio-economic benefit of the larger population and mostly for the downtrodden. The benefit of the Kaleshwaram project has to be measured in terms of the socio-economic development of the region. Investment of the state cannot be quantified from the economic perspective alone, and it has to be seen and felt from the well-being of the population.
The project allocates 30 tmc ft of water for the future growth of Hyderabad and the resultant economic development will cross-subsidise the investment and recurring expenses of the Rs 80,000-crore project. Hyderabad is among the leading cities in the country and one of the fastest growing. It is an economic powerhouse with Rs 1,11,166 crore of information technology and pharma exports. It generates around Rs 60,000 crore every year through taxes of different kinds. In many ways, part of the revenues is ploughed back into the city’s development and urban management, in the provision of energy and water to industry and institutions.
Huge growth
The overall population in the 7,200-sq km Hyderabad metropolitan region is estimated to be around 1.4 crore. Keeping in view the envisaged economic growth and supported by efficient governance and city management, the population is projected to reach 2.4 crore in 2031 and 3.2 crore in 2041.
Correlating this with economic growth, the quantum of taxes expected to be generated in the city region may multiply more than four times to approximately Rs 2,50,000 crore. A minor share of this revenue, assumed to be around Rs 60,000 crore, can be attributed to the city's growth and can be invested back into its development. The gross state domestic product in 2017-18 was at Rs 7.33 lakh crore, with an impressive growth rate of 14.1 per cent. With a growing population, domestic consumption will increase manifold resulting in employment-related taxes.
Water for future
One of the key requirements for sustaining this phenomenal growth will be the availability of water, which would certainly come at a cost. Assuming that the total water requirement in 2041 would be 94 tmc ft (thousand million cubic feet) at 150 litres per capita per day, water supply to Hyde-rabad from the Krishna and Godavari rivers will need to be augmented. As the Krishna water is fully harnessed, the dependency on the Godavari is bou-nd to increase over time.
If part of the 94 tmc ft demand can be met in some way, coupled with the expected returns of the Kaleshwaram project, a suitable resource mobilisation strategy would be required. Water supplied to the city and industry should be linked to a payment mechanism to offset the long-term costs of the Kaleshwaram project.
Rural impact
It is very important that agriculture production continues to grow to feed the ever-growing population. That is the main objective of the Kaleshwaram project. In comparison to the earlier conceived Pranhita-Chevella project, the scale and benefits that can be taken from the Kaleshwaram project are much more. Kaleshwarm strengthens the rural economy through guaranteed water supply. This will enable the farmer to plan for crops irrespective of the rain pattern. It will have a direct effect on the per capita income, standard of living, education, health, hygiene and small investments. It will not displace the farmer from his house and village.
The state cultivates seeds in 2,600 acres and exports 25,000 quintals. The agriculture department can work out a scheme to collect a water cess on the quantum of their exports. Producers of dairy products can be encouraged and charged a water cess. Likewise commercial flower industry can be encouraged to export and a water cess can be collected on it. bengaluru lessons
In the last few years, Cape Town in South Africa has been under tremendous water stress. Municipal water supply was largely shut off, potentially making Cape Town the first major city to run out of water. In India, Shimla is facing an acute water crisis, leading to about 30 per cent reduction in tourist arrivals. The water shortage forced officials to temporarily shut schools. As per information in the public domain, Bengaluru is facing a huge water crisis. The city has to be supported with water from the Cauvery and, in future, from the Krishna which is 600 km away. This makes the sustainability of the future of Bengaluru very challenging.
A BBC report listed 11 world cities that were most likely to run out of drinking water and put Bengaluru at No. 2 behind Sao Paulo, Brazil. A largescale IT-economy based project area development in north Bengaluru was shelved for non-availability of water. It is imperative that Hyderabad learns from Bengaluru and plans for its water resources in advance and takes advantage from the largescale irrigation projects.
Hyderabad’s plan
Taking water from Kalesh-waram for Hyderabad would ensure healthy drinking water for millions of citizens, disease-free population leading to higher productivity, reducing distress to womenfolk who spend a tremendous amount of time and energy in collecting water. Continuous supply of water for industry would ensure higher levels of economic productivity.
Institutes of higher lear-ning, research and development, of which Hydera-bad houses many, require uninterrupted quality water. It is no doubt a critical factor of means for production. This is a rather undiscussed aspects for the growth of a city. The proposal for the Regional Ring Road (RRR), a regional level infrastructure connecting parts of Hyderabad to the surrounding towns and cities, will provide its own opportunities. The 60-metre wide 300-km long RRR, supported by planned and regulated urbanisation can support a population of around 1 crore with low to medium density concentrated pockets.The Telangana Develo-pers Association has proposed to build four satellite cities and an IT city of 10 lakh people between the ORR and the RRR. The water requirement for such a future development would be in the range of 750 million litres a day at 150 litres per capita daily.
Paying the bill
Developing an appropriate mechanism to distribute the cost of large projects like Kaleshwaram spread over a large population of three crore specific to its usage in the city, offers a partial solution in the fin-ancial planning and management of the project. Linking the growth of the city to the larger region and sharing of costs and benefits of metropolitan growth would be a path-breaker in the Indian urban scenario. Telangana can do this and show the country how to redefine urbanisation strategies for the future.
(The writer is the president of Telangana Developers Association. Inputs provided by Maheep Singh Thapar, urban planning and development expert.)
