Revanth’s Musi dream turns nightmare for the Congress

The Chief Minister's statement that even a one-day delay could lead to significant losses for residents along the River Musi has raised concerns among many Congress leaders, who believe the government's priorities are misaligned.

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s apparent obsession with the Musi riverfront development project has triggered concerns within his own party, with several Congress leaders worried over the government sidelining implementation of the Six Guarantees.

The Chief Minister’s statement that even one day’s delay would result in huge loss to residents along the River Musi, has set off doubts in the minds of many Congress leaders, who feel the government’s priorities are being misplaced.

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The Congress had made multiple promises to the people, including one tola of gold along with financial assistance under the Kalyana Lakshmi scheme, monthly assistance of Rs.2,500 to women, enhanced financial assistance for farmers under Rythu Bharosa, monthly honorarium of Rs.4,000 to unemployed youth, Vidya Bharosa Card of Rs.5 lakh for students and enhanced pensions up to Rs.4,000 for senior citizens among others.

However, except for a few schemes, like the free bus travel facility for women and extending Rajiv Arogyasri benefits to Rs.10 lakh, implementation of most of the components of the Six Guarantees has been sidelined. Under the Mahalakshmi and Gruha Jyothi schemes, LPG cylinder for Rs.500 and 200 units of free power were being offered but the benefits were limited to only white ration card holders. Even among white card holders, many were yet to get these benefits.

The Indiramma Indlu scheme was formally launched in March by the Chief Minister but till date the scheme has not been implemented. Likewise, under the Rythu Bharosa scheme, Rs.15,000 per acre was promised to both farmers and tenant farmers. This apart, farm labourers were promised Rs.12,000. It has been close to 10 months but Rythu Bharosa was not being implemented and the Rs.10,000 assistance that farmers used to get under Rythu Bandhu in the past was also denied.

What is worrying the Congress more is that even a scheme that was implemented – the crop loan waiver – has brought in more criticism and negative publicity for the government than goodwill. Nearly 20 lakh farmers are still waiting for the waiver despite the State government’s claims that Rs.18,000 crore was spent for the scheme. With farmers continuing massive protests, many leaders feel that the government has failed to implement even one scheme without drawing negative publicity.
It was to deflect some of the criticism that the government adopted diversionary tactics, primarily through HYDRAA. But that again drew the ire of hundreds of poor people who were hit by the discriminatory approach of the agency, a fact that even the High Court came down heavily on. As if the High Court’s rap and the BRS gaining ground with its protests was not enough, Forest Minister Konda Surekha drew in more criticism for the party, this time from across the country and the film industry as well with her comments against actresses.

In between all this brouhaha, Revanth Reddy’s sole focus, Congress leaders themselves point out, has been the Musi project. Surprisingly, even on the project, the Chief Minister’s approach has been confusing.

In January, the Chief Minister, when he visited River Thames, said Musi beautification was top priority, but now he says it is Musi rejuvenation. Asking journalists at Thursday’s press meet whether he was selfish in taking up the project, he also said if they passed a resolution against the project, he would cancel the tenders allotted to the consortium. As if this seemingly disconcerted approach was not enough, Revanth Reddy did a volte face on the cost of the project as well. The same person, who announced at the Gopanpally flyover inauguration that Rs.1.5 lakh crore would be spent in five years on the project, on Thursday, asked from where did the BRS get the figure of Rs.1.5 lakh crore.

With elections being announced in Maharashtra, the Congress high command is also anxious over the delay in implementation of the Six Guarantees in Telangana. To convince voters in Maharashtra, effective implementation of schemes in Telangana was crucial but they were being sidelined and projects like Fourth City and Musi that were not announced in the manifesto, were being inexplicably being accorded top priority, a senior State Congress leader said.