The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has approved 7,513 road-related projects under its purview in fiscal year 2022-2023 at a staggering cost of Rs 19.47 billion to ensure commuters a smooth and incident-free ride on city roads.

Out of 7,513 road related projects approved, GHMC has been able to complete 2,219 so far, costing Rs. 4.58 billion. The remaining 5,294 projects, which cost Rs. 14.88 billion, are in various stages of completion.

The total length of roads that the GHMC maintains is 9,013 kilometers, of which 2,846 kilometers are BT roads and 6,167 kilometers are cement concrete (CC) roads.

The government of Telangana granted an administrative sanction of Rs 18.39 billion for their maintenance and launched the Comprehensive Road Maintenance Program to improve the travel conditions on the major roads which account for 811.96 km of the total road length in GHMC limits.

In accordance with this programme, the CRMP offices were instructed to keep all main road sections passable for five years. More than 690 km of the 811.96 km long road network has already been carpeted by CRMP agencies. Under the contract, the CRMP bureaus are also responsible for maintaining medians, sanitation, developing greenery and painting curbs on major roads, senior GHMC officials said.

In the meantime, the GHMC has decided to opt for the construction of Vacuum Dewatered Cement Concrete (VDCC) roads instead of ordinary bitumen roads to prevent rainwater stagnation and to ensure the life of the roads, which are often flooded during rain showers. With a budget of Rs 1.58 billion for this fiscal year, the GHMC proposed 146 km of vacuum dewatered cement concrete (VDCC), and construction is already underway at a number of sites. Unlike major arterial roads, these roads are built in settlements and regions where there is relatively little traffic.