Green drive for more lung space in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has laid special emphasis on developing urban lung spaces in the form of ample greenery in and around Hyderabad while simultaneously executing big-ticket infrastructure projects like road widening, construction of flyovers, underpasses, Road under Bridges (RuBs) and Road over Bridges (RoBs).

As a part of this exercise, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), in the last 12 to 18 months have launched numerous initiatives in the form of urban-themed parks, not only to increase the green cover but also the aesthetic.

Apart from HMDA and GHMC, the Hyderabad Growth Corridor Limited (HGCL) Urban Forestry wing which is a part of the HMDA is also maintaining more than 63 lakh plants along the Outer Ring Road (ORR).

So far, the GHMC in its jurisdiction has developed around 20 theme parks while 53 more parks will be developed soon, senior officials of the civic body said.

Presently, civil works are in progress at 27 theme-based parks while the development of the remaining lung spaces is under various stages of implementation.

Some of the parks with unique concepts that will come up include a women’s theme park in LB Nagar zone and Serilingampally zone with women empowerment as a theme, Children Park each in Serilingampally, LB Nagar and Kukatpally zones.