Harish Rao fires salvos at Revanth Reddy on Musi project, criticises for turning Telangana into ‘Bulldozer Raj’

BRS leader T. Harish Rao criticised the State government over the Musi river project, questioning large-scale demolitions and lack of a DPR. He demanded clarity on the project’s purpose, financial outlay and buffer zones affecting thousands of families.

Hyderabad: BRSLP deputy leader T Harish Rao tore into Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy over the Musi river project, demanding the latter to clarify whether the project was meant for rejuvenation or just beautification. He accused the government of planning large-scale demolitions without clarity and sought to know why more than 10,000 families were being made homeless for the project whose purpose remained uncertain.

He ridiculed the Chief Minister for holding presentations on the Musi River project in five-star hotels without a Detailed Project Report (DPR), rather than holding consultations with lakhs of people living along the river in fear of eviction. He reiterated that the BRS was not opposed to rejuvenation of Musi River but would resist real estate loot in the name of beautification.

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During a press meet at Telangana Bhavan on Friday, Harish Rao recalled that the previous BRS government initiated establishment of 32 sewage treatment plants at Rs 4,000 crore and approved plans to bring Godavari River water into Musi River to improve its quality. “Today the government is changing the name of the project every day, from beautification to purification, rejuvenation and then development, but the only thing happening on the ground is demolition,” he said.

Citing the Congress government’s gazette notification for Musi River project, the BRSLP deputy leader sought to know the need for removal of 10,017 structures to acquire 3,279 acres, making nearly one lakh people homeless. He questioned how demolition notices were issued even before preparation of a DPR, which the Chief Minister had earlier said in the Assembly, would take 18 months. He revealed plans to move a privilege motion against Revanth Reddy for misleading the House.

He also sought clarity on the buffer zone along the river, asking why different limits of 9 metres, 30 metres and now 100 metres were being cited without any published study. He demanded that the government make public hydrological and flood studies that justified the proposed action.

Raising financial questions, Harish Rao accused the government of claiming an empty treasury for welfare schemes, while planning to spend nearly Rs 1.5 lakh crore for the Musi Riverfront project. He also questioned the Chief Minister’s statement in the Assembly that the Asian Development Bank had sanctioned a loan, while the bank’s official communications suggested the DPR was not submitted till date.

The former Minister said over 300 houses had already been demolished without proper compensation even after one year. Pointing to the Chief Minister’s assurance to Madhu Ridge Park apartment residents of providing seven acre land and deposit compensation in the bank account for construction of another apartment in the same vicinity, he asked whether the government would provide similar facility including land, money and housing to all affected families across 46 colonies along the river.

He also asked whether government structures, metro facilities and religious buildings in the river, also will be removed if the buffer zone rule was applied uniformly.

Harish Rao said the BRS would stand with residents facing eviction and warned the government against Bulldozer Raj without plan or law. He reiterated that the Chief Minister must answer the questions raised by him before proceeding further with the project. He questioned Congress Lok Sabha leader Rahul Gandhi’s silence on the Bulldozer Raj of his party’s government in Telangana.

He sought to know why the BJP leaders were not speaking against the demolitions and asked whether they were supporting the Chief Minister’s unilateral decisions.