Hyderabad needs to move beyond simply building more roads and begin shaping mobility decisions grounded in data, risk sliding into the gridlock of Bengaluru and the pollution crisis of Delhi. That was the broad consensus at the Hyderabad Policy Conclave, where policymakers, civic leaders and transport experts highlighted the need for a more measured, evidence-based approach as the city continues to grow.

At the centre of the discussion was a blunt acknowledgement from Cyberabad Municipal Commissioner Srijana Gummalla, who noted that urban decisions are often “arbitrary” rather than scientific. “The real challenge is not lack of data, but how we convert that data into decisions,” she said, calling for a shift towards citizen-centric, data-driven planning.