Under Revanth Reddy-led government, the state capital is likely to soon have a fourth city, named “Future City”.
HYDERABAD — If the Congress government in Telangana led by chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has its way, the state capital will soon have a fourth city, named as “Future City,” the other three being Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Cyberabad.
Coming up at Mucherla in Rangareddy district, about 50 km from the main city of Hyderabad towards its southern side, the “Future City” is proposed to be developed as an ultramodern region keeping in view the future needs of the Generation Next, Hindustan Times reported.
“We are building the Future City, which will be India’s answer to the future. It will be India’s first Net Zero Carbon city. Future City will become a hub for Artificial Intelligence, medical tourism, sports, software and pharma. It is like a second round of gold rush,” the chief minister said, showcasing the potential of the region, while addressing an official roundtable meet of the CEOs of top 20 companies form various sector, hosted by the Consulate General of India held at New York on August 6, during his visit to the US. He returned to Hyderabad on Saturday.
Revanth Reddy first came up with the idea of creating “Future City” during the recent budget session of the state assembly on July 31. “First, it was the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. In tune with the advancement of technology and the needs of the new generation, the city expanded to Cyberabad, which has grown into an information technology hub in the last two decades. Now, it is time to expand the horizons of Hyderabad further to meet the future needs of the people,” the chief minister said.
According to Revanth Reddy, it will become a hub for artificial intelligence, electronic city, medical tourism, sports, software and pharma. “It will have all amenities, including a metro rail connectivity, speciality hospitals, sports infrastructure including a cricket stadium, and skill development university,” the chief minister said unveiling plans for Mucherla.
On August 1, Revanth Reddy laid the foundation stone for the Young India Skill University at Meerkhanpet in Kandukur block, closer to Mucherla. In September, he is planning to lay the foundation stone for the Artificial Intelligence city in the area. The state government has already held preliminary talks with the Board for Cricket Control in India (BCCI) for the construction of an international cricket stadium.
“The Future City at Mucherla will be more advanced than New York,” the chief minister said after laying the foundation stone for the skill university. He announced that the government would construct a 200-feet road from Mucherla to the airport and make metro rail accessible.
State information technology minister Duddilla Sridhar Babu said the “Future City” will be a hub for future technology with Net Zero Carbon impact design. It will be an urban city of truly global standards and processes,” he said.
Hyderabad-based political analyst Ramakrishna Sangem says promotion of Brand Hyderabad and sustaining its image has become an imperative for all the political leaders, whoever comes to power.
“It started with Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu during his first stint as the chief minister in combined Andhra Pradesh between 1995 and 1999. He created a brand for Hyderabad, which was not there in the past, by designing Cyberabad and establishing the IT ecosystem, which attracted massive investments in the IT sector to Hyderabad,” he said.
His successor Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, too, had made his own efforts to sustain this IT hub image of Hyderabad by expanding the Cyberabad and completing the infrastructure projects like Outer Ring Road and International Airport. “After the formation of Telangana, Bharat Rashtra Samithi working president and then IT minister K T Rama Rao, too continued this legacy and developed massive IT infrastructure in and around Hyderabad,” Sangem said.
Now, Revanth Reddy, too, has to do something that would sustain the brand image of Hyderabad. “The proposed Future City is part of this imperative necessity. Of course, it is also a political mandate for him to have his own brand in the state administration,” Sangem said.
The advantage for Hyderabad, according to him, is that it is a land-locked city with a plenty of scope for expansion 360 degrees, unlike other metros like Mumbai, Chennai or Bengaluru. “What is required for the fourth city or the Future City is the basic infrastructure – drinking water supply and drainage facility. Without this, it cannot be made liveable,” he said.
Prominent environmentalist and academician Prof K Purushottam Reddy said the proposed “Future City” should be a sustainable city, as per the sustainable development goals envisaged by the United Nations.
“It should be made affordable and liveable for the common man. It should have a lot of greenery, water bodies and be environmentally friendly. I am sure when they say it is Net Zero Carbon city, they will work in that direction,” Reddy added.
