NGT did not dismiss Musi project plea, only disposed of it: BRS leader Karthik Reddy

BRS leader P Karthik Reddy clarified that the National Green Tribunal only disposed of his petition on the Musi River Rejuvenation project. He said the government assured the tribunal that no work would proceed without securing required environmental clearances.

Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader P Karthik Reddy clarified that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) did not dismiss his petition on the Musi River Rejuvenation project, but only disposed of it.

He had approached the tribunal alleging that the Telangana government began work on the project without obtaining mandatory environmental clearances.

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In a statement on Saturday, Karthik Reddy said the State government informed the tribunal that the project was still at the application stage. It assured that no further work would be taken up until all required permissions were secured, he stated.

Karthik Reddy said the petition forced the government to place several commitments on record before the tribunal. He claimed some of these assurances were not disclosed in the Legislative Assembly.

He warned that he would move the judiciary again if the government failed to honour any of the assurances.

The BRS leader also criticised Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and alleged that the Musi project was being pursued for political gains rather than public interest.

He compared the initiative to the Sabarmati riverfront project taken up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused the Chief Minister of trying to emulate it for political mileage. Karthik Reddy said the party would oppose the project, if it failed to serve public interest.