Hyderabad: BRS senior leader and former minister T. Harish Rao on Friday raised several questions about the Musi river project and asked Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to clarify issues related to the plan and demolition notices issued to residents.
Harish Rao said the Chief Minister should first answer these questions before presenting details of the project at a five-star hotel event. He said the opposition was not against the revival of the Musi river but opposed what he called “lootification” in the name of beautification.
He said the BRS government under K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) had already prepared plans to improve the river. According to him, the previous government proposed 32 sewage treatment plants with an estimated cost of ₹4,000 crore. The plan also aimed to bring Godavari water to help clean the river.
Harish Rao alleged that the present government keeps changing the name and approach of the project. “Sometimes it is Musi beautification, sometimes Musi purification and sometimes Musi revival,” he said while criticising the government.
Questions on demolitions and project details
Harish Rao asked how authorities issued demolition notices to residents without preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR). He recalled that the Chief Minister had told the Assembly that preparing the DPR for the stretch from Himayat Sagar to Bapu Ghat would take 18 months.
He questioned how officials issued notices to poor residents and announced plans to demolish more than 10,017 houses even before finalising the DPR.
The BRS leader also asked the government to clarify the buffer zone along the Musi river. He said previous governments had fixed different limits, while the current government proposed a 100-metre buffer zone. He demanded that the government make public any scientific studies supporting this decision.
Harish Rao also asked whether the government had conducted hydrological or floodwater studies before planning the project. He further questioned the status of a proposed ₹4,100-crore loan from the Asian Development Bank, claiming the loan has not yet been sanctioned.
The former minister raised concerns about compensation for residents affected by demolitions near Chaderghat. He asked whether the government would provide land or housing to thousands of families living in colonies along the Musi river.
He also asked whether infrastructure such as metro stations, bus stands, sewage treatment plants, temples and churches along the river would face demolition.
Harish Rao criticised the reported house arrest of Musi Jan Andolan activists and asked whether political parties were supporting the government’s actions against residents.
