KTR tears into Revanth for prioritising Musi beautification over drought-hit farmers

BRS working president KT Rama Rao criticised Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy over the proposed Musi riverfront project amid drought, crop losses and power shortages. He questioned water management, project transparency, Medigadda repairs, investment claims and the detention of party leaders.

Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao tore into Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy for prioritising real estate interests over farmers and drinking water needs, and aggravating Telangana’s drought through mismanagement of water resources. He questioned the Congress government’s push for a Rs 1.5 lakh crore Musi riverfront project amid severe drought, crop losses and power shortages.

“Who asked for beautification when crops are drying up? Did Rahul Gandhi or Sonia Gandhi ask for it?” he asked.

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In a full-throttle attack on the Congress government on Thursday, Rama Rao said nearly 1,000 TMCft of Godavari and Krishna water had flowed out of Telangana without being adequately utilised. With 365 mandals declared drought-hit, he accused the government of failing to conserve water and aggravating the agrarian crisis.

He contrasted Telangana’s situation with that of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, which successfully diverted river water to avert drought. He slammed Revanth Reddy for allowing water to flow downstream while refusing to act on Opposition suggestions due to his sheer arrogance.

The BRS working president pointed out that farmers were being forced to use generators and water tankers to save their crops, while some had resorted to burning standing crops because they could not afford the expenses. Referring to four farmer suicides reported in Adilabad over the preceding week, he accused the government of ignoring the distress.

Rama Rao said the Congress’s pre-election declarations for farmers, youth, women and other sections had given way to holidays for different groups after the party came to power. He said the government had failed to provide adequate support to farmers even as it struggled to ensure uninterrupted power and drinking water.

“Crop holidays for farmers, power holidays for industries, PRC and retirement-benefit delays for employees, and a job holiday for unemployed youth. People will eventually declare a permanent holiday for the government,” he remarked.

Questioning the proposed diversion of 10 TMCft of water from Mallanna Sagar to the Musi, the former Minister said Hyderabad was booking around 7,000 water tankers a day while farmers faced an irrigation crisis and livestock lacked fodder. He asked how the government could justify spending Rs 1.5 lakh crore on beautification when drinking and irrigation water remained scarce.

Rama Rao also questioned the transparency of the Musi project, alleging that the public hearing on land acquisition had been conducted without meaningful public participation and that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) had not been made public, despite claims of an Asian Development Bank loan. He said the previous BRS government had completed sewage treatment plants at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore and argued that the entire project could be completed for Rs 16,000 crore.

He condemned the detention of BRS MLAs P Sabitha Indra Reddy and D Sudheer Reddy, MLC Dasoju Sravan and party leader P Kartik Reddy while they were attempting to attend the hearing. He challenged Rahul Gandhi to respond to the suppression of democratic participation in a Congress-ruled State.

The BRS working president accused the government of neglecting the Medigadda barrage, stating that there had been no adequate inquiry into reported pillar damage in October 2023, no repairs and no plan to resume water storage. While the government cited a cash crunch for completing the repairs and addressing pending irrigation projects, he questioned the availability of funds for the Musi beautification project.

Ahead of the Global Summit, Rama Rao demanded a white paper on investment agreements, investments actually received and jobs created. He warned that power holidays would undermine Telangana’s investment prospects.

Reacting to Minister Konda Surekha’s apology over her remarks against him, he said others who had made false allegations would also be forced to apologise.