Telangana CM Revanth Reddy.
Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Monday, March 23, announced that the state government is ready to constitute a Cabinet sub-committee led by Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka, Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu and Transport minister Ponnam Prabhakar on the Musi Rejuvenation Project.
Speaking in the Legislative Council today, the Telangana CM, who has come under fire from some quarters for the project, said that the government formulated a “roadmap” for the Musi river’s development and assured that all the displaced will be provided rehabilitation. “We will not render anyone living alongside Musi homeless. We will not cause harm to even a single individual,” stated Revanth Reddy.
He also appealed to political parties to stop “false propaganda” against the Musi project, and stated thts if they feel “uncomfortable submitting suggestions” directly to him, he is ready to constitute a Cabinet sub-committee. The CM criticized the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) for abandoning the Musi project, censured the BRS for “politicising” the project.
The Telangana Chief Minister said that the government is ready to seek suggestions on the project. Speaking during the question hour in the Legislative Council in response to issues raised by members, Revanth Reddy clarified that the government will take responsibility for providing assistance to the people living in the Musi river basin.
He added that the government will implement any suggestions and recommendations that are useful to people after thoroughly reviewing plans related to the Musi Rejuvenation project.
It may be recalled that the Congress government after coming to power began demolishin homes built on the banks of the Musi river, which cuts across Hyderabad. Water in the river was stopped from flowing as the Osmansagar and Himayatsagar dams were built in the outskirts between 1913 and 1925 by the last Nizam of Hyderabad Osman Ali Khan prevent the river from flooding the city.
However, since the water was stopped in the dams, the riverbed turned dry and over decades became a habitation for locals.
The Musi Jan Andolan (MJA), a collective of civil society organisations, on Saturday, March 14, issued a point-by-point rebuttal of the Musi Riverfront Development Project’s Phase 1 Detailed Project Report (DPR), alleging that the project’s real objective may be to supply water to data centres being set up in Hyderabad rather than to rejuvenate the river.
Addressing media persons a day after Revanth Reddy unveiled the DPR at Hotel Taj Krishna in Hyderabad earlier this month, the MJA flagged what it called a “Freudian slip” in his speech, noting that the CM had in the same address spoken of a serious groundwater crisis facing the city and then remarked on how the Musi project would enable a continuous water supply to global data centres.
“In one breath, the Chief Minister poignantly pointed out that the city is facing a serious groundwater crisis. In the very next breath, he remarked how water is required for global data centres and how the Musi project will enable these data centres with continuous supply of water,” the collective said.
MJA also questioned the proposal to build barrages on the river, arguing that one cannot seek to restore a river to its “natural heritage” while simultaneously “arresting it as if it were a small canal for boating.”
It noted that despite the government’s emphasis on the National River Conservation Plan and the Central Water Commission’s technical guidelines on flood plain xoning of July 2025, it was missing a crucial point that “the river is a living entity.”
This post was last modified on March 23, 2026 3:34 pm