After an eight-month delay, the Computer-Aided Utility Mapping Project is all set to be completed by next month.
The mapping of the utilities will help find out the deficiencies in physical infrastructure and regulatory frameworks.
The National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), which has been entrusted with the task of mapping the city by the Planning Commission, has reportedly sought more time to submit its report.The Planning Commission is understood to have expressed its unhappiness over the slow progress of the project. The Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) is the nodal agency for implementing the project funded by the Planning Commission.
The mapping of the city using the Global Information System (GIS) will help the civic body evolve perspective plans to develop infrastructure and ensure balanced urban growth.
The utilities to be mapped include the MCH, police, Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB), Andhra Pradesh Central Power Distribution Company Limited (APCPDCL), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and Infrastructure Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (INCAP).
Speaking to this website''s newspaper, a senior MCH official said NRSA already completed the aerial photography of the entire city last month as part of the project. As there are several defence research organisations in the twin cities, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) initially refused to permit aerial photography of the establishments citing security reasons.
However, the Central Government and the Planning Commission prevailed upon the MoD to allow NRSA to map the research organisations. Hyderabad is one of the six cities covered under the project. The other cities are Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata.
The mapping of the utilities will help find out the deficiencies in physical infrastructure and regulatory frameworks. The rapid growth of the city has made the existing maps obsolete. Hence, we have taken up the project of digital mapping of the city.
Without up-to-date maps, policy making, urban planning and development of the cities will be difficult. The project will also help in disaster management, the MCH official said. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) will help create large digital maps with all information pertaining to various utilities.
NIC has also proposed setting up of Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) for the six cities to enable all the departments to access the vital data, the official added.
Source: The Hindu, Indian Express
