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Telangana’s Warangal was picked up to be developed as a Smart City by the Union government’s Smart Cities Mission (SCM) seven years ago, but every time it rains heavily there is flooding because the drainage system continues to be inefficient. While residents, activists and leaders of the opposition party have repeatedly criticised the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) led state government for failing to ensure that Telangana’s second largest city is protected from floods, slum dwellers continue to bear the brunt.

TNM visited the slums in Warangal’s Sammaiah Nagar, Rajajinagar, Gokul Nagar and other surrounding areas to understand the effects of flooding. Every single person this reporter spoke to had no doubts when asked about the major issue facing Warangal residents today—the flooding experienced by the city. How parties tackle it is paramount and voting in the Assembly elections scheduled for November 30 will be crucial.

The slums fall under Warangal West constituency and candidates from the BRS, BJP and Congress will have to gain the confidence of victims to win the seat. While the incumbent BRS MLA and government chief whip Dasyam Vinay Bhaskar is focused on promoting the state government’s welfare schemes like double bedroom housing to woo voters, Congress candidate Naini Rajender Reddy and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Rao Padma have criticised the BRS for failing to develop the constituency and for not properly implementing the Smart Cities Mission.

The Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC) was selected for the Smart Cities Mission project by the Union government in May, 2016, a year after the Mission’s launch. At the time of its announcement, the BJP said it wanted to ensure that the selected cities would have internet connectivity, e-governance along with quality infrastructure. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had described smart cities as “those with very high quality of life comparable with any developed European city.” 

Pulluru Sudhakar, president of the civic group Forum for better Warangal, alleged that the Union government did its job in monetarily assisting Warangal, but the state government did not provide their share of the funds and this was the reason the works remain incomplete. 

As per Mission guidelines, every Smart City is entitled to receive Rs 500 crore from the Union government over a period of five years. The state or the urban local body has to match this with an equal amount. Here funds from the state are to be provided through the GWMC which has formed a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) Warangal Smart City Development Corporation Limited (WSCDCL). 

Lives disrupted by flooding

Residents of Sammaiah Nagar, named after late Communist Party of India (Marxist)  (M) leader A Sammaiah, said despite housing being provided to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Backward Class (BC) families, the living situation was deplorable.

“Sammaiah Nagar was heavily prone to land grabbing in the 90s. The fight led by CPI(M) leaders like Ramulu, Prabhakar Reddy and Telugu Desam Party’s (TDP) Pranay Bhasker, ensured that over 53 acres of land was allotted to homeless people,” said Uppalaiah, a CPI(M) leader. However, access to housing hasn’t translated to safe habitation over the years. 

Bapu Rao and Sunitha, a Madiga (SC) Christian couple residing in Sammaiah Nagar said every time it rains, their house is flooded and they have to pack up and move elsewhere until the rains subside. Srilatha, another resident, moved to Warangal from Mallampalle village, close to Telangana’s Mulugu district in search of employment 11 years ago. 

“The current government has done nothing for us. I will go and vote as proof that I am alive but I have little faith in political parties,” she said. Radha, (name changed) another resident said flood waters can reach more than five feet. “When it rains water can come up till here,” said the woman, pointing to her cheek. The flood waters also wash away goods in their grocery store.

A 10 minute walk from Sammaiah Nagar, a shopkeeper in Rajaji Nagar points to a pumpkin, hung outside his store, six feet from the ground. “Water reached till that point. I had to dispose of all my produce. This problem recurs because our open sewers are hindered by encroachments,” he explains, pointing towards a building constructed alongside the sewer, a few feet away from his shop. 

How smart is the Smart Cities Mission?

Inadequate storm water drains, rampant encroachment of lake beds and lack of underground sewer system have all contributed to Watangal's infrastructure woes. The city's Area Based Development (ABD) as part of the Smart Cities project envisions to retrofit and redevelop 1,583 acres centred on Central Area of Warangal and transform into a smart neighbourhood by improving the lives of its resident

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The Union Urban and Housing Affairs ministry, which is incharge of implementing the Smart Cities project, had stated in February 2023 that while the Union government released Rs 196 crore, the state government released only Rs 70 crore. 

An Economic Times report dated June 2023 noted that the Telangana government has not released its share of funds for the SCM implementation Warangal. 

Speaking to TNM, a GWMC official said it’s not right to say that the Smart Cities project has failed. "Both the state and Union governments have been allocating funds. At best, there is an administrative delay from the state government which is understandable. Recently, the Union government released Rs 67.5 crores and the state government will reciprocate," he said.

When asked about flooding in areas like Sammaiah Nagar, the official said it had  nothing to do with lakes or storm water drains. “The flooding could be a result of either leaks in slum housing which have no bearing on drainage,” he said. 

Faulty construction, bad planning

Pulluru Sudhakar said most areas of Warangal either lack a drainage system or have only a partial one. “Even the Hanmakonda excise colony, a wealthy area of Warangal had to be content with a partly functioning drainage for several years. If we had under ground drainage, this problem wouldn’t arise.”  

Many feel that bhoomi kabzah (land capture) is what renders the creation of a proper drainage system difficult. Land near sewerage drains often gets encroached which makes expansion work in times of floods impossible. 

“In Sammaiah Nagar alone, the water from Wadepally cheruvu (lake) finds its way into these colonies when rains are heavy. Forum for Better Warangal had suggested construction of a retaining wall from Sammaiah Nagar to Bhadrakali Nala (sewerage) a few kilometres away to avoid this problem, but that never happened,” said Sudhakar.  

After floods hit Telangana in 2020, Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) minister KT Rama Rao instructed officials in Warangal to conduct a special drive to remove illegal structures on the nalas as they were causing inundation of low-lying areas. He had also announced the constitution of a special task force under the chairmanship of Waragal (Urban) Collector and promised removal of  illegal structures within 45 days. Flood affected victims said recurring floods were proof of illegal structures.