Telangana HC directs state government to prepare action plan to clean River Musi

Hyderabad: Telangana High Court has directed the state government to prepare a concrete action plan to clean River Musi and submit it before the Court by January 3, 2020. It also opined that there seems to be lack of will to undertake such exercises in case of not only Musi but also Tank Bund. The latter, though looks beautiful on the outside, is full of poisonous pollutants.

The Division Bench comprising of Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice A Abhishek Reddy gave this direction while hearing a PIL on this issue. The Court took up this issue as a PIL after seeing a report in a prominent Telugu daily about the deadly impact of pollution on people in 66 villages along Musi.

The Court issued notices to Chief Secretary, Principal Secretaries of Environmental Department, Municipal & Urban Affairs Department, Industries Department and Commissioner GHMC, MD of HMWSSB, Member Secretary of Telangana Pollution Control Board and Collectors of Ranga Reddy, Vikarabad, Hyderabad, Medchal, Malkajgiri, and Yadadri Bhuvanagiri.

The Bench reacted sharply to the submission made by Special Government Pleader S Sharat Kumar that the government is not able to act because of several pending cases on this issue. It said such submission is nothing but excuses for not performing and questioned why the government did not work in areas that are not mired with litigation. Pointing out a lack of cases in the area behind the High Court building where Musi was flowing, the Bench asked why it is not being cleaned. Although Musi Riverfront Development Corporation chairman had promised to get this cleaned within three months, they are still waiting. When the government could overcome severe obstacles and complete Kaleshwaram project, taking up this sort of exercise should not be much of a problem. The Bench advised the government to study how this was being done in other states and countries and take concrete steps to clean the water bodies.

Commenting about the pollution in Tank Bund, the Bench lamented that statues are being immersed in lake unmindful of the consequences. It mentioned that God means cleanliness and hoped such a situation would be remedied. The Bench made it clear that it will hear all cases related to Musi River at the next hearing on January 3 and directed the registry to post them together.