Hyderabad: Scientists, environmentalists, leaders from various political parties and concerned citizens came together on Sunday to voice their opposition against Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s (KCR) idea to repeal GO 111, which protects Osman Sagar and the Himayat Sagar lakes.
Government Order 111, introduced by the erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh, restricts any kind of major construction and industrial activity in a 10-km radius of the full tank level of the two reservoirs — Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar’s full tank levels.
The discussion majorly involved two panels: A scientist/expert panel that included Dr K Babu Rao, retired Chief Scientist from the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Prof G Ramdass, geo-physicist, Sagar Dhara and former consultant for the United States Environment Programme (UNEP) and a political panel with various opposition leaders.
Among the opposition voices which attended the panel were Congress spokesperson Sravan Dasoju, Congress Ex MLA and Former HUDA chairman Kodanda Reddy, president of Telangana Jana Samithi (TJS) M Kodandaram and other leaders from the Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Addressing the discussion, ex-MLA Kodanda Reddy condemned chief minister KCR’s “attitude” towards the issue and said that the latter raised the matter in the Assembly’s hour during the previous session, giving no chance to the opposition to debate on the topic.
“The issue of GO 111 comes under MA&UD minister KT Rama Rao but he has not even once talked about it during the session. KCR garu suddenly raised it at the end of the session. Also, an accusation has been made against the Congress party that we haven’t spoken against the idea to repeal GO 111. I am present here to dispel such notions,” he said.
TJS president M Kodandaram said that the Telangana government has prepared a water policy keeping in mind the real estate and is also confusing people by not putting out real facts around the issue.
“I request the activists to keep the discussion focussed on the issue of preservation of the twin reservoirs rather than GO 111. We will gain more only when we speak in those terms. We have to question the government whether they want the existence of the twin reservoirs or not rather than making noise around GO 111. We have to also ask the government regarding the flood situation that is persistent in the city. What is the strategy around flood mitigation if these reservoirs are affected?” he asked.
On the drinking water issue, Kodandaram said that the government from 2016 has increased water inflow using lift irrigation from Krishna and Godavari to the city and is decreasing the consumption from Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar.
Prof G Ramdass, a Geo Physicist, warned the government of an increase in seismic activities if the lake catchment area is affected due to real estate and industrialization. He also said that the city might see bigger floods if the vast lake land is being tampered with.
“All the bores across apartments and residential areas in the city will go dry if reservoirs are affected. Air and water pollution will prevail. Remove encroachments in the lakes and strengthen GO 111 is required, not the repeal,” he added.
Speaking next, Dr Babu Rao Kalapala, a retired Chemical scientist and Environmentalist asked what exactly defines development.
“Scientists across the world are screaming on the top of their lungs to mitigate climate change. Everybody is worried about the situation of the world and humanity by the year 2050. But we are still continuing mistakes of the 20th century in the name of development. KCR says the repeal idea is to save poor farmers in the area,” said Dr. Kalapala.
He added that “farmers are losing their land across the state” in the name of development, and pointed out that the upcoming Pharma city is being built over 19000 acres of land. “What about poor farmers over there? Those farmers are being paid peanuts as compensation compared to the market value. Many of them are committing suicide,” Dr. Kalapala opined.
Prof Sagar Dhara, former UNEP consultant, spoke on the lack of a disaster management strategy by the Telangana government and warned that the city can face floods at any point in time without a prior warning due to rapid change in the environment. “We have to plan for it especially looking at the flood history of the country in the last 20 years,” he said.
Representatives of various political parties expressed opinions on the strategy to fight the repeal idea and also voiced support to a people’s movement in conserving the twin reservoirs and the catchment area spanning 84 villages.
