Govt. misled Centre, Parliament regarding Musi project R&R: Harish Rao

BRS leader T. Harish Rao speaking to the media, along with MLA K. Venkatesh Yadav (left) and K. Viplav Kumar, in Hyderabad on Thursday.

HYDERABAD

Senior BRS leader T. Harish Rao has alleged that the State Government has misled the Centre, Parliament and the country in the matter of implementation of rehabilitation and resettlement for families being displaced by the Musi Riverfront Development Project.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, along with Amberpet MLA K. Venkatesh Yadav and party leader K. Viplav Kumar, he said that the ‘betrayal’ of the Congress Government was exposed in the Centre’s reply to a question raised by BRS MP K.R. Suresh Reddy in the Rajya Sabha earlier this week. He said that the State Government was lying that the 2013 Land Acquisition Act was being implemented for the Musi Project as it had informed the Centre something and implementing something else in reality.

BRS had better law

Mr. Harish Rao said that the previous BRS Government had introduced a better law than the 2013 Act implemented for families displaced by projects. Against the provision of construction of the IAY (Indira Awas Yojana) houses on 121 square yards sites in the 2013 Act, the BRS Government had changed it as a double bedroom houses on 250 square yards site.

The cost of IAY house was only ₹1.2 lakh then but the BRS Government had constructed 2-BHK houses with about ₹6 lakh each. Besides, the law made by the State Government had also increased the wage-loss component. However, in case of the Musi project, the State Government had not even enumerated the families being displaced. The Act also provided for equal treatment of assignment, encroachment, patta and government land in case of compensation.

BRS leader T. Harish speaking to the media in Hyderabad on Thursday.

He demanded that the State Government enumerate the properties and families likely to be affected with the project first, notify them, call for objections and then issue notices. Mr. Harish Rao reiterated that BRS was not against the Musi Riverfront Project as it was mooted by the previous government itself but was against demolition of houses without following due process and displacement of people without showing them any alternative shelter and compensation.