Public transport system should be strengthened

Resources are available, from manpower to technology.

There are permits for high-rise buildings because of 100-foot roads in Hyderabad.

However, once these developments are in place, traffic will face serious challenges.

It may take over an hour to travel even 5 kilometres.

Therefore, the public transportation system needs to be further encouraged.

Gummi Ram Reddy, National Secretary of CREDAI.

CREDAI National President Gummi Ram Reddy stated that there is nothing we need to learn from Sydney in terms of real estate, as we already have everything related to it. While attending the CREDAI NATCON conference in Sydney, he spoke to the Real Estate Guru about real estate, the need to improve public transportation and more. Excerpts from the interview:

“The CREDAI NATCON held in Sydney was an excellent event. Many impressive sessions took place in a beautiful location in Sydney. Rajendra Dandapani shared some ideas, and implementing even a few of them could bring us significant benefits. A director from the Tata group explained how the Tata values are upheld, sharing how Tata relinquished hundreds of crores for these values. Many valuable insights were shared. These sessions will be extremely beneficial for current developers. Founder of Infinitheism Mahatria’s motivational speech was excellent; his suggestion to take just one minute for yourself was fantastic. He urged us to reflect on ourselves at least once a day. When asked if they are happy despite earning thousands of crores, many took a moment to think before answering ‘yes.’ My dream is to create a situation where every developer can proudly say, ‘I am a developer.’ We covered a lot of ground, discussing developer accountability, funding, marketing, the role of artificial intelligence, the perspective of bankers, and student housing, among many other topics. Each session offered a wealth of learning opportunities. Moreover, there was the chance to meet many prominent celebrities. There’s no doubt that everyone who came here will leave feeling very happy and content.”

Buildings on the Road

How should footpaths be designed? What about walking tracks? How should cycle tracks be? We can see good examples of this in Sydney. We’ve also created cycle tracks, but they’re not very effective. In Sydney, columns are placed on either side of highways, and buildings, including hotels, are constructed above them. There are many such examples.

Sydney has a relatively low population, and the traffic is quite good. It’s easy to travel from one place to another. There’s a 20-kilometer tunnel with houses above it and underground tunnels below. It would be great if we could implement something similar here.

While we have 100-foot roads and many skyscrapers coming up, if all of them reach occupancy, we will inevitably face serious traffic issues. It could take over an hour to travel just 5 kilometres in the city. This situation seems likely to arise within the next five years, so it’s wise for us to wake up to this reality early.

It would be beneficial for the government to proactively build underpasses. Given the abundance of hard rock in some areas, creating underpasses might be a challenge. Therefore, options like flyovers, sky bridges, or trams could be considered. We should aim for a situation where anyone can travel anywhere using the metro.

This indicates a need for further expansion of our metro system. Trams could also be introduced. Once, Hyderabad had narrow roads, but now that we have wider ones, it’s possible to implement trams. We should promote public transportation as much as possible.

Sydney is not the only one…
There’s no need to go to Sydney to implement innovative projects. We have also undertaken many unique projects, including the Atal Tunnel. Therefore, there’s no necessity to visit Sydney for insights. Although Sydney may be a bit more advanced than us, we have everything we need right here. We also have skyscrapers, manpower, and technology—all available to us.

However, we need to improve the ease of doing business. There should be clarity in the permissions process, and permissions should be granted promptly. When purchasing property, there must be assurance, including title guarantees. Once a property is bought, there shouldn’t be any future issues related to it. How can it be acceptable to say your property is in a buffer zone or within the FTL? In fact, we must not compromise on protecting FTLs and buffer zones. At the same time, problems should not arise after all permissions have been obtained. If that happens, trust will be lost.

Once you purchase a property, there should be no further complications. In Telangana, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy is moving towards reforms, with good initiatives like the Musi River Front, RRR, Skill University, and Pharma City. Protecting lakes is a commendable decision, but it must not cause hardships for the poor. Therefore, all aspects must be taken into consideration, not just one side.

Water and Nature
Water and nature are essential elements for any tourism initiative. Developments can be made alongside lakes, but due to encroachments, many of our lakes have lost their identity. There are several reasons for this. However, at the same time, many lakes in Hyderabad have been beautifully developed, with walking tracks and parks created around them.

When it comes to Australia, the land is abundant. Australia’s area is more than double that of India, and its population is significantly lower than ours. This allows for the establishment of many beautiful places in Australia. However, it’s not as easy to implement similar projects here. That said, substantial investment isn’t always necessary. With good ideas, it’s possible to provide excellent facilities with minimal investment.