CM Revanth: Ready for special Assembly session to discuss Musi River Rejuvenation project

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday lashed out at the Opposition parties for making baseless allegations on the expenditure for the Musi Riverfront Development Project.

The chief minister said, his government is ready to organise a special Assembly session for two to three days to discuss the Musi River Rejuvenation project.

Explaining the State government’s aim for starting the project, he said the project will revitalise the river, not just beautify it as claimed by the Opposition parties.

Speaking to the media at Dr BR Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat here, Revanth Reddy gave an overview of the Musi River development and rejuvenation project and explained how it will enhance the quality of life for people who reside along the riverbanks. Referring to the allegations levelled by the Opposition leaders, Revanth Reddy said that none of his ministers would benefit from the Musi River rejuvenation.

‘Musi project to take 6.5 years’

“I won’t bother to take the blame from the Opposition parties. Five companies including Meinhardt, RIOS, Cushman & Wakefield in association with ZHA and SOM have formed a consortium to draft a DPR (detailed project report) for the Musi River rejuvenation project, which will be submitted in the next 18 months. The consortium has been given 6.5 years to complete the project. In three to four months, an interim report would be submitted by the consortium. The agreement value for preparing the DPR is Rs 141 crores,” the chief minister said.

CM Revanth Reddy said, in the last 10 months officials split into 33 teams and interacted with the people residing in the Musi River catchment areas. They gathered all the details of the problems being faced by them over the years. “The project aims to improve the lives of those who have been residing in the contaminated areas around the Musi River; it is not just about aesthetics,” he said.

Elaborating further, he emphasised the river’s geographical and historical significance, pointing out that it is around 300 km long. Musa and Esi are two rivulets that converge to form the Musi River in Hyderabad.

‘We are not evicting people’

“The State government is very clear. It has plans to rejuvenate the Musi River. However, there is a section of people who are unnecessarily creating a ruckus on the issue and I have the responsibility to clarify to the people about the apprehensions being circulated,” CM Revanth Reddy said.

The chief minister said that the goal is to ensure that those who live along the banks of the Musi River lead respectable lives.

“We are not evicting people or using police force to evacuate residents, unlike previous cases in Mallanna Sagar and Vemulaghat. I am challenging the Opposition leaders to participate in the debate with me at either Gajwel, Siddipet or Siricilla over their decade-old rule,” he said.

‘Beneficiaries willingly moved to 2BHK houses’

Revanth Reddy also said that the State government did not demolish a single house in the Musi River catchment areas. The beneficiaries of government-provided 2BHK houses demolished their houses to relocate. The government has also provided Rs 25,000 as compensation, he said, acknowledging the existence of more than 16,000 homes along the river.

“I asked all my MLAs to coordinate with the AIMIM MLAs and corporators to boost confidence among them about the Musi River Rejuvenation Project,” he said.

‘HYDRAA is not a demon’

Chennai, Bengaluru, Vijayawada, Khammam and Wayanad were inundated recently following the heavy rains due to the lack of provision for water to flow into water bodies. “Should rainwater flood the streets or go into rivers and lakes? HYDRAA is not a demon. It is constituted to crack a whip on the violators who constructed multi-storey buildings encroaching the water bodies in Hyderabad,” the chief minister said.

CM Revanth asks Harish Rao, KTR and Eatala Rajender to stay near Musi River

Defending the State government’s move to entrust the Musi River Rejuvenation Project works to Meinhardt, CM Revanth Reddy recalled that prime minister Narendra Modi entrusted them with the task of installing the Statue of Unity in Gujarat and the Statue of Oneness in Madhya Pradesh.

“What’s wrong in entrusting the Musi River project to them? I am directing the MA&UD principal secretary Dana Kishore to arrange housing and hospitality facilities for Harish Rao, KTR and Eatala Rajender to stay in the Musi River catchment area for three months and understand the plight of the people there. If the trio can sustain living there for three months, I will scrap the task entrusted to prepare the DPR by Meinhardt,” the CM said.

Speaking about organising a special Assembly session to discuss the Musi River project, CM Revanth said, “I am asking Opposition leader K Chandrasekhar Rao, BJP state president G Kishan Reddy, MP Eatala Rajender and BRS working president KT Rama Rao to participate in a debate on how to benefit the people in the State. I will consult the experts and verify whether MPs could also participate in an Assembly debate on the measures to be taken for the Musi River rejuvenation project. I am appealing to KCR, Kishan Reddy and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi to send their questions on the Musi River rejuvenation project before Saturday. I am ready to clarify all their queries during the special Assembly sessions. I will take permission from the Governor in this regard,” he said.