Musi River demolition drive to resume tomorrow; 100 houses obtain stay order from HC

Hyderabad: Officials from the revenue department and Musi Riverfront Development Corporation Limited (MRDCL) are gearing up to resume the demolition drive in the Musi River catchment areas from Tuesday.

The officials have suspended the demolition drive for the past 10 days in observance of the Dasara and Bathukamma celebrations. On October 1, the State Government began the first phase of demolition of houses along the Musi river bed at Musanagar, Shankar Nagar Colony in Old Malakpet and Rasoolpura areas of Chaderghat in south Hyderabad as part of the riverfront development project.

2,116 houses constructed on Musi riverbed

The authorities have already marked the houses in the Full Tank Level (FTL).

A total of 2,116 houses were constructed on the Musi River’s bed, while an additional 7,850 were constructed in its buffer zone. Authorities issued notifications to demolish 1,600 residential homes in the Musi River’s bed during the first phase.

About 150 houses were also demolished by the enforcement teams. Several residents have already evacuated from their houses in the river catchment areas and shifted to double-bedroom houses. A section of residents who have not evacuated have been shown an alternative by the officials without causing any trouble for them to resume the demolition from tomorrow.

‘One lakh houses in the buffer zone’

The officials would further focus on the houses in the buffer zone. They said that they had already examined the city on Google Maps, where they found more than one lakh houses in the buffer zone. According to the officials, almost 55 km of structures in the Musi River catchment area would be demolished. However, it seems that the government has taken a decision to carry out demolitions only after convincing the locals.

“In accordance with the chief minister’s directives, we will allocate double-bedroom homes for the evacuees from the Musi Riverfront. To accommodate those who will be displaced from their homes along the river, the government has set aside around 16,000 double-bedroom homes in various locations throughout the city,” principal secretary (MA&UD) and managing director of MRDCL Dana Kishore told vernacular media.

Indiramma Illu housing scheme

In the second phase, the houses in the river bed would be demolished and the structures in the buffer zone would be marked red.

The GHMC and revenue officials have already prepared a plan in this regard.

As part of that, Indiramma committees were constituted at the gram panchayat and municipal/ward-level committees, for the implementation of the ‘Indiramma Illu’ housing scheme for the poor. The State government intended to implement these effectively and it has issued orders regarding the appointment of these committees.

House owners obtain stay order from Telangana High Court

Over 100 house owners in Musi River catchment areas have obtained a stay order from #Telangana High Court not to demolish their houses.

At Chaithanyapuri, PhanigiriColony, Sathya Nagar and Kothapeta, the house owners have displayed banners and posters stating that their houses are under protection order VIDE WRIT PETITION before the High Court.