As per Mission guidelines, every Smart City is entitled to receive Rs 500 crore from the Union government over a period of five years. The state or the urban local body has to match this with an equal amount. Here funds from the state are to be provided through the GWMC which has formed a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) Warangal Smart City Development Corporation Limited (WSCDCL).
Lives disrupted by flooding
Residents of Sammaiah Nagar, named after late Communist Party of India (Marxist) (M) leader A Sammaiah, said despite housing being provided to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Backward Class (BC) families, the living situation was deplorable.
“Sammaiah Nagar was heavily prone to land grabbing in the 90s. The fight led by CPI(M) leaders like Ramulu, Prabhakar Reddy and Telugu Desam Party’s (TDP) Pranay Bhasker, ensured that over 53 acres of land was allotted to homeless people,” said Uppalaiah, a CPI(M) leader. However, access to housing hasn’t translated to safe habitation over the years.
Bapu Rao and Sunitha, a Madiga (SC) Christian couple residing in Sammaiah Nagar said every time it rains, their house is flooded and they have to pack up and move elsewhere until the rains subside. Srilatha, another resident, moved to Warangal from Mallampalle village, close to Telangana’s Mulugu district in search of employment 11 years ago.
“The current government has done nothing for us. I will go and vote as proof that I am alive but I have little faith in political parties,” she said. Radha, (name changed) another resident said flood waters can reach more than five feet. “When it rains water can come up till here,” said the woman, pointing to her cheek. The flood waters also wash away goods in their grocery store.
