Hyderabad: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has dismissed the petition filed by Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader P Karthik Reddy against the state government’s efforts to further the Musi Riverfront Development Project.
Karthik Reddy, who is the in-charge of the BRS in the Rajendranagar Assembly constituency, had lodged a petition with the Chennai bench of the NGT, alleging that the state government had failed to obtain the required permissions and was violating the environmental rules in the project, especially in constructing the Gandhi Sarovar Project at the confluence of the Musi and Esa rivers near Bapu Ghat in Langar House.
The state government had argued that Reddy’s petition was politically motivated with a malafide intention.
NGT says lack of evidence
On hearing both the arguments, the NGT reportedly gave the order in favour of the state government, citing lack of evidence produced by the petitioner. The NGT observed that the petition didn’t have substantiated grounds requiring its intervention at this stage.
The dismissal of the petition against the Musi Rejuvenation Project has come as a relief to the state government, which has been ambitiously planning to complete the Phase 1 of the Musi Riverfront Development Project for Rs 6,500 to Rs 7,000 crore, spanning a distance of 21 km along the Musi riverfront.
The BRS has been claiming that Congress government was taking up the Musi Riverfront Development Project without a detailed project report (DPR).
Madhu Park Ridge Apartments, built on the banks of the Musi river in Langar Houz, has been the state government’s preferred location for the construction of Gandhi Sarovar Project as part of the first phase of the Musi Riverfront Development Project.
The state government has issued eviction notices to the residents of the apartment, claiming that the apartments were constructed in the buffer-zone of the Musi river.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has on multiple occasions publicly said that the apartments would be of “zero value” if the residents didn’t alienate the premises for construction of Gandhi Sarovar Project. Apart from Madhu Park Ridge, a dargah located in its vicinity also received the eviction notices.
