Telangana government issues orders making the approach roads to be at least 100 feet wide for layouts inside HMDA areas

The Telangana Government has issued orders making the approach roads to be at least 100 feet wide, against the existing 30 feet for layouts being developed in the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) area.

The idea behind issuing these orders is to ease traffic congestion and ensure wide roads to meet future requirements, especially growing vehicular population. If the approach road is less than 100 feet, the developers would have to pay a road impact fee — additional charges for road formation/improvement.

Many residential avenues including apartments, layouts and gated communities are being set up in Hyderabad Urban Agglomeration i.e. within and around ORR in HMDA area in recent years. The urban population in Telangana stands at 42.6 per cent of the total population and is likely to touch 50 per cent in next couple of years.

It was observed that during the last four years, HMDA has approved many layouts and out of which more than 63 per cent layouts are in sites of the above five acres. Even in smaller sized layouts and layouts with apartments, the number of dwelling units has increased and almost every house has at least one personal



vehicle.

Officials expect this will result in regular traffic congestions particularly during peak hours and cause inconvenience to public including the occupants in these layouts.

Accordingly, the State Government has issued orders making it mandatory that the minimum width of the approach road for approval of a layout in HMDA area should be 100 feet.

In case the existing road width is less than 100 feet, the applicants have to either form the 100 feet road up to their site (and including their site for the portion affected) or alternatively they shall leave the land required for widening the existing road to 100 feet from their site (equal on either side). Further, they shall pay a road impact fee i.e. the additional charges towards road formation or improvement.

The move was welcomed by the builders and developers as they said the returns could be in premium. It will be a value addition and given the provision of 100 feet wide roads and other infrastructure, even consumers too will not hesitate to own plots in such layouts, said CREDAI Hyderabad General Secretary V. Rajashekhar Reddy.