Mumbai is the financial capital of India. Many think that with its talent pool, Mumbai must now endeavor to become a global financial and services centre. They, however, also believe that the megalopolis can rival Singapore and Hongkong only if it is spun off as a "national city" where different stakeholders have a say in the administration of the great city of opportunities. But it is impossible that this can ever happen. Mumbai is also the capital of Maharashtra and the pride of the "Marathi manoos" is also attached to the city. Even the idea of spinning off Mumbai as a separate administrative territory will be enough to spark off major riots in the mega city.
Hyderabad is no Mumbai and cannot match the latter in scale and size even though in the last decade, the city has also built its own identity as a technology centre. But if someone were to suggest that Hyderabad should become a ''national city'' that would be enough to raise the hackles of many. The locals will see in it a conspiracy hatched by Delhiwalas (denotes outsiders from power centres) to hijack the city and make it into a union territory. Till about last year many mulkis (migrants from Andhra who have stayed for long periods in Hyderabad) were willing to agree to Telangana if Hyderabad was kept out of it. Many of them did not find anything wrong in Hyderabad becoming a union territory in the event of Telangana happening. They perceived that they would be safer in the union territory of Hyderabad than in Hyderabad that is part of Telangana.
But there has been a sea change in thinking in the interim. Although there is no finality or even a decision about Telangana, there is the realization that if the new state happens- Hyderabad may be part of it. This is because Hyderabad is bang in the middle of Telangana. Secondly, the Andhra borders are at least 200 km away from Hyderabad. Thirdly, all those who were wary earlier are convinced that even if Telangana happens and Hyderabad is part of it, there will be no discrimination against them. Here they take a leaf out of Bombay''s example. In 1960, when Bombay state was bifurcated and a separate state of Gujarat was carved out, the Gujaratis wanted Bombay for themselves. Their argument: Bombay''s business had been built by Gujaratis and Parsis (who are also Gujaratis). The Gujaratis -- many of whom had lived in the city for two generations -- were apprehensive that with Bombay being part of Maharashtra they would be discriminated against in what had become their home city. But in the event, nothing of this sort happened. Gujaratis continued to live and flourish in Bombay. So much so that many Gujaratis living in Gujarat joke that Mumbai is the capital of Gujarat.
The same thing can happen in Hyderabad. Andhras who migrated here will remain and flourish in Hyderabad. In the event of Telangana happening, many Andhras back home in Rajamundry or Vizag can joke that Hyderabad, for all practical purposes, is the capital of Andhras. In fact the latent realization amongst Andhras in Hyderabad is that they are as much Hyderabadi as the locals. So hum sab Hyderabadi is their new slogan.
There is also a line of thinking that Hyderabad can be the joint capital of Telangana and Andhra for a few years if the bifurcation happens. This few years could range between 5 -10 years. In the interim the Andhras would build a new capital.
Whatever be the case, Hyderabad is central to the issue of Telangana and therefore it is imperative that practical solutions be found out even before anything happens on the ground. If the status quo is disturbed in Andhra Pradesh, it is unlikely that Hyderabad will remain the same. There can be no easy solutions and stakeholders have to collectively put their thinking caps on to arrive at a consensus on what shape Hyderabad should take. But it is imperative that the growth momentum that has catapulted Hyderabad from just a state capital to a global technology city in the last ten years is not lost. If Hyderabad is the destination of international and national investments, conditions should not be so created that there is a flight of investors. At the same time it is equally important that the concerns of those who are left out of the growth process in Hyderabad are also addressed. The gaps between the haves and have-nots should not widen. It is not good for a city that the number of slums should increase alongside a proliferation of malls and multiplexes.
One of the possible solutions could be to make Hyderabad a special administrative region (SAR) of Andhra Pradesh for starters and if Telangana becomes a reality then a SAR of the new state. What does this mean? In practical terms it means that Hyderabad should have a separate empowered city government which can take its own decisions on development in Hyderabad. It could have powers regarding land use, revenue matters and also relating to law and order. The city could be headed by a chief minister, who has ministers with an elected legislative assembly for Hyderabad. The head of the government will however not be the chief minister but a Lieutenant Governor who reports to the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh (or Telangana, if a new state is created). This Lieutenant Governor should be appointed by the Government of Andhra Pradesh (or Telangana) and not by the Union government as is in the case of the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. Of course the details have to be worked out and if there are any Constitutional amendments required they have also to be checked. But such a move will certainly impart a degree of stability to the city and remove apprehensions from the minds of investors.
In fact it is a bit like the Hong Kong model. When the British left Hong Kong after occupation of the island for 155 years, the Chinese were in a bit of a dilemma. In the interim century and a half, Hong Kong had become a major trading hub and global financial centre that transacted business worth billions of pounds. With the exit of the British, there were apprehensions about how Hong Kong would be incorporated into China. Many investors left and others planned to quit. But the Chinese are a sagacious people: they knew that Hong Kong as a major economic hub could only survive and flourish only if investor fears were allayed. It is then that they came up with this ''one country, two systems'' theory. Hong Kong would be part of China but would be administered differently. That is why when you go to Hong Kong you don''t need a Chinese visa but get a visa on arrival. Different rules relating to investments also apply to Hong Kong. Of course, Hyderabad is in India and part of Andhra Pradesh and this point is only made to emphasize that different laws relating to certain matters could be conceived in the context of the city.
However there are certain issues that need to be addressed. Unfortunate as that may be, land disputes and other realty issues have become major matters in Hyderabad in the last few years. In fact, the rising realty prices in Hyderabad have led to a proportional increase in property disputes. What is disconcerting is that many of our public representatives (or their close relatives) are accused of being part of land settlements. Many police officers are also involved in the trade. Everybody knows about this. So the question to be asked is: what is the guarantee that if we have a city government in Hyderabad the quality of the elected public representatives will be any better than the present lot? How can we ensure that the quality of police officers will be better than the present lot?
Well there are no easy answers. May be some of the radical reforms in the electoral system mooted by analysts may be tried in the city government of Hyderabad on an experimental basis. These include empowering the voters so that the option of "none of the above" is given to them while exercising their franchise. Also, voters of Hyderabad could be given the choice of recalling their elected representatives if they do not perform as per expectations or are publicly perceived as guilty of misdemeanor. Such a policy may be impossible to implement across the country with a 122 crore population but not in a city like Hyderabad with numbers of 80 lakh. It can be used as a pilot model. May be the institution of Jan Lokpal can also be tried with respect to Hyderabad on a pilot basis. The misgivings about how the Lokpal institution can work across the country can be tested out in Hyderabad and the problems ironed out.
But in spite of this a crucial question remains: What is Hyderabad? When the city government of Hyderabad is created what will be its territorial extent? Will it encompass the district of Hyderabad which covers the old city of Hyderabad and Secunderabad? Or should it extend to the police limits of Cyberabad that girdles the city and includes part of the Ranga Reddy district? Or should it extend into Medak and Nalgonda which are in the jurisdiction of the HMDA) ? Increasing the area of Hyderabad may be desirable due to the fact that urbanization is increasing in India and cities are expanding in area. But if the area of Hyderabad increases on an exponential basis what remains of Telangana? Therefore for starters we can settle on the limits of HMDA to define the city. That would mean an area of 625 square km, the second largest city in India after the NCT of Delhi.
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Keyword Tags Hyderabad News,Telangana Agitation, Hyderabad Realestate
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