Hyderabad: Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday, October 5 said the government is ready to spend Rs 10,000 crore to relocate the displaced poor along the Musi river.
The Telangana chief minister urged people not to be “swayed” by the opposition’s remarks against the demolition undertaken by the Hyderabad Disaster Response Asset Protection Agency (HYDRA) “The government will protect every single displaced person and take the responsibility of providing alternatives to them, government will support those living in the buffer zone and FTL of the Musi River,” he said.
He appealed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Etala Rajender, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) and Siddipet MLA T Harish Rao to make suggestions regarding for the welfare of poor living in the Musi catchment area, he said the State government was not angry with anyone. “The government’s agenda is to do good for people,” he said.
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Eatala praised Narendra Modi for developing the Sabarmati riverfront. The same leader is opposing and raising objections to the Musi development project. Revanth further requested former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) and KTR to donate a part of their farmhouse if they are committed to the welfare of the poor.
Taking a dig at the former chief minister, Reddy said, “The opposition leaders are living in the farm houses like Zamindars and want the poor to languish in the slums.”
On October 3, the Telangana chief minister said that the government is not trying to suppress the Musi river bed dwellers though bulldozers. “The aim is to protect the river and provide better living conditions to people,” said Revanth Reddy about the resettlement of people who had built unauthorised homes on the Musi river’s banks over the last few decades.
Tense moments were witnessed in Hyderabad over the last one week after the state government and Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection (HYDRA) began evacuating residents who had built homes on the Musi river. HYDRA over the last month has also been on a drive to clear up encroachments on lakes across the city, which has drawn criticism from the opposition and also praise at the time from activists.
The resettlement of Musi river residents however was a little charged, as people in different areas initially opposed it, but the government being intent on it finally began the task. In response, Bharat Rashtra Samithi working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) on October 3 announced that the party’s legal team will be available in Telangana Bhavan to assist those affected by the Musi Riverfront development eviction.
KTR stated that individuals residing in the riverbed and buffer zones of the Musi and other lakes, who are facing potential eviction due to the Musi Riverfront Development project and the demolitions carried out by Hyderabad Disaster Response Assets Monitoring and Protection (HYDRA), can reach out to his party for legal assistance.
