Hyderabad: Musi Jan Andolan raises concerns over environmental clearance for riverfront project

Musi Jan Andolan and civil society groups have raised concerns over the environmental clearance granted for the Musi Riverfront Development Project, questioning the assessment of ecological and flood risks, project footprints, displacement figures and the clearance process.

Hyderabad: A consortium of prominent environmentalists and civil society groups in Hyderabad has raised serious concerns over the environmental clearance granted by the Telangana govt for the Musi Riverfront Development Project.

The groups flagged procedural issues regarding the clearance process and sought clarity on the basis on which approvals were issued for works linked to the Musi riverfront.

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On Monday, Musi Jan Andolan, an independent, non-party people’s platform and movement to safeguard River Musi and communities living on its banks, convened a meeting with various civil society organisations to discuss the environmental clearance granted by the State Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Authority to the Musi Riverfront Development Project.

According to a press release issued by the platform, the participating groups clarified that their concerns are not centred on whether Hyderabad needs a clean and rejuvenated Musi. Instead, they raised critical questions about how the river is being redesigned, how ecological and flood risks were assessed, whether project footprints and displacement figures are internally consistent, and whether the clearance process adequately addressed public and technical objections.

The members of the Musi Jan Andolan said that they were not opposed to the rejuvenation of the Musi but opposed to a model of ‘rejuvenation’ that risks turning a living river into a chain of engineered water bodies and concrete landscapes.

“The Environmental Clearance should therefore withstand rigorous public scrutiny. At present, the documents leave several fundamental questions unanswered,” said the press release.

“We urge the Telangana government, the project proponent and the environmental authorities to pause, disclose, review and correct before proceeding further,” said the press release. Hyderabad deserves a Musi that is genuinely alive, not a river that merely looks alive until the next major flood tests the project, it said.