Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy threw down an unusual gauntlet on Friday evening, March 13, saying that if political parties opposed to the Musi Riverfront Development Project pass a resolution against it in the upcoming Assembly Budget Session, he is willing to scrap it entirely.
“At the maximum, I would think about becoming the CM again and our government coming to power again. What will I get if I make the poor people my enemies,” he said, addressing a packed gathering at Taj Krishna Hotel in Hyderabad, where the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Phase 1 of the project was unveiled before a consortium of global corporates, foreign diplomats, subject matter experts, environmentalists, civil society organisations, administrators and media.
Friday’s event marked the formal public unveiling of the Phase 1 DPR, presented by EV Narasimha Reddy, Managing Director of the Musi Riverfront Development Corporation Limited. The room was filled with Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad, Legislative Council Vice-Chairman Gutha Sukhender Reddy and Special Chief Secretary for Municipal Administration and Urban Development Jayesh Ranjan, among others.
‘Bring arguments to Assembly’
The Telangana CM’s appeal to the Opposition was direct, saying they could bring objections to the Assembly session, debate the project on the floor and, if there are questions about compensation for potential land evictees, they could put them on the table. He said the government was open to a conversation, but wanted it conducted through proper democratic channels rather than outside of them.
Anticipating a line of attack against the project, Revanth Reddy sought to address fears about displacement head-on. He assured that every family relocated from the Musi riverfront will be moved to purpose-built resettlement colonies close to their original areas, so that their livelihoods remain intact. The government, he said, will build houses, schools and provide all necessary facilities in these colonies.
He pointed to 150 acre of government land available in Amberpet constituency, of which 20 to 25 acre could be developed into a resettlement colony for families displaced from the Musi banks in that constituency alone.
On real estate and jobs
The Congress leader was unapologetic about the project’s commercial dimensions. Responding to criticism that the government was chasing real estate interests, he said, “Some are saying Revanth Reddy is thinking only about real estate. Yes, I will think about real estate. Thousands of jobs will be created in the Global Capability Centres when their buildings are constructed.”
He questioned why a government shouldn’t think about real estate, pharma, IT and other sectors in the same breath that it thinks about the poor.
The Telangana CM said supporters of the project had been largely silent, while those against it had been vocal. He warned that people would soon see a side of him they had not seen before, without elaborating on what that meant.
