Hyderabad: Chief Secretary J. Harinarayan does not think GO 111 is the solution for protection of Osmansagar and Himayatsagar lakes. Banning everything within 10 km of the catchments area of the lakes was not at all practical, he remarked.

Mr. Narayan was speaking at a function organised by the Forum for a Better Hyderabad on the occasion of its 7th anniversary here on Tuesday. Terming GO 111 as a bad order, he said if everything hazardous was to be banned then air travel should be banned first as it damaged the ozone layer. He however agreed that the city's drinking water sources needed to be protected, as there was a large human settlement upstream. The inflows into the lakes should be increased.

Bids called

Referring to the Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS), Mr. Narayan said that technical bids were called and the developer would be finalised by the year-end. He also hinted at the reservations the Forum had about the MRTS. About the drinking water supply to the city, he said Godavari water was expensive but necessary. In this connection, he recalled how Delhi was getting water from far away.

Expressing concern over the environmental degradation, he said the pace of global warming had accelerated due to human interface. Urbanisation couldn't be wished away. The influx of people into the city had increased tremendously. There was a policy divide with the result that things were planned well but their implementation left a lot to be desired. "Where we go from here depends on where we wish to go," the Chief Secretary said, referring to the dilemma faced by Alice in Wonderland. Later he released the annual number of the Forum.

Unhygienic conditions

C.V.S.K. Sarma, Commissioner, GHMC, said global warming and climatic changes were certainly a cause for concern and so was poor sanitation in the neighbourhood. He expressed shock at the unhygienic conditions in which people lived near open sewers and said the system had failed. Apportioning blame on others was of no use. What was necessary was to identify practical and solvable problems, Mr. Sharma said.

V.K. Bawa, executive committee member, Forum, faulted urban planning and wondered whether high-rise development was required. He expressed concern over the rising temperatures and called for decentralisation in the city.

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