Srikrishna panel moots union territory status to Hyderabad

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.