Congress Govt’s claims in Parliament on Musi project misleading, says Harish Rao

He claimed that the State government's statements to the Centre about the project did not align with its actions on the ground. He commended BRS chief K. Chandrashekhar Rao for introducing and enforcing a law superior to the Land Acquisition Act, 2013. Highlighting Rao's background as a member of a displaced family, he emphasized that this experience gave the former Chief Minister a deeper understanding of the hardships faced by the displaced. 4o

Hyderabad: Coming down heavily on Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy for misleading the Centre, the Parliament and the nation on the rehabilitation of Musi Riverfront project victims, BRS leader and former Minister T Harish Rao on Thursday accused the State government of falsely claiming implementation of Land Acquisition Act, 2013 while concealing the facts about the Musi Riverfront project.Addressing a news conference at Telangana Bhavan, he pointed out that the response to a question posed by MP KR Suresh Reddy in the Parliament exposed the deceptive stance of the Congress.

He alleged that the State government’s claims before the Centre were different from what it had been implementing on the ground in respect of the project. He praised BRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao for enacting and implementing a law that was better than the Land Acquisition Act, 2013 emphasizing that the former Chief Minister, coming from a displaced family, understood the plight of the displaced.

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Rao highlighted that while the 2013 Act mandated the construction of IAY houses on 121 square yards of land, Chandrashekhar Rao increased it to 250 square yards with double-bedroom houses. He criticized the State government for not identifying the affected victims properly and for misleading the Centre on the Musi issue. He stressed that the law provides equal rights to all, whether they own assigned land, encroached land, patta land, or government land. He outlined the legal process, which includes enumeration, public notice, and addressing objections before starting the rehabilitation process.

However, none of these steps were followed and houses were demolished without proper notice or enumeration, he pointed out. Harish Rao also accused the State government of demolishing houses and offering double-bedroom houses built by the Chandrashekhar Rao government without following due process. He cited examples of successful rehabilitation in various projects like Kondapochamma Sagar, Mallanna Sagar, and Palamuru Lift Irrigation Scheme under Chandrashekhar Rao’s leadership.

Challenging the Chief Minister to discuss the issues raised in Parliament, Harish Rao called for an all-party meeting to address the concerns of Musi victims. He reiterated that the BRS was not against the Musi Riverfront project but against the misappropriation of State funds under its guise.