BRS is against displacement of people, not Musi clean up, beautification: KTR

BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao making a presentation on Musi development at the party office in Hyderabad on Friday.

HYDERABAD

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has asked Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy as to why the State Government is preferring to sail with a shady company called Meinhardt for preparing a detailed project report for Musi Rejuvenation and River Front Development Project when it is barred by several governments and others.

Making a presentation on the Musi Development Project at the party office here on Friday, BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao faulted the Chief Minister for falsely claiming about a survey when no such exercise was taken up. He alleged that the Chief Minister’s love for the Musi project was out of the objective to carry the money to be made in the ₹1.5 lakh crore project to the Congress bosses in Delhi.

Stating that the Telangana society is closely watching the Congress Government and its intent on taking forward the project at the “cost of six guarantees and over 400 promises” made before the Assembly elections, the BRS leader said, “Chhote bhai Revanth Reddy is following Bade bhai Modi in case of Musi project and repeating what the latter did at the time of demonetisation – changing word every day”.

While Mr. Modi had changed reasons justifying demonetisation to check black money, to weed out fake currency, to control terror funding (terrorism), to check Naxalism and for digitalisation of the economy, Mr. Reddy is changing word on Musi project from beautification one day to, clean up, rejuvenation and clean water to Nalgonda subsequently, Mr. Rama Rao stated.

Reiterating that BRS was neither against beautification of Musi nor its clean up and rejuvenation, the former MA&UD Minister said his party was against forcible eviction of about one lakh people (11,000 structures) living along the river course – in the buffer zone. Even the 900 plus structures should be evicted after a proper resettlement plan.

He mentioned that former Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao put the Musi project taken up with an estimated cost of ₹16,634 crore, particularly the displacement of families, on hold suggesting rethinking on the model. The BRS Government had taken up treatment of sewage water joining Musi from 54 main nalas (drains) and others including industrial effluents with the construction of 31 treatment plants with ₹3,866 crore which could stop 90% of the 2,000 MLD sewage water generation every day reaching Musi.

The present government could implement the project at much lesser cost, a total of about ₹25,000 crore including the works already done as against ₹1.5 lakh crore being planned now – as STPs and 60 projects taken up under SNDP with ₹985 crore would be part of the project and by taking up expressway link from ORR west (Manchirevula) to east (Pratapa Singaram) and more SNDP works and construction of flood wall along 57.5 km length of Musi in the city.