Hyderabad: Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy announced that in the coming days people’s representatives will be holding get-together events with the residents living on the banks of the Musi River, to take their views about how to relocate and rehabilitate them.
He directed the officials of the Hyderabad Disaster Response Assets Monitoring and Protection Agency (HYDRAA) to show humanism when dealing with the poor while removing encroachments in the city, and asked them to show an alternative to the poor. He, however, directed the officials to sternly deal with the wealthy people with regard to encroachments.
Revanth Reddy inaugurated the new police station of HYDRAA at the B-Block of the Buddha Bhavan in Secunderabad on Thursday, May 8, which is spread over around 10,000 sq ft.
The chief minister, along with Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi and MLC Addanki Dayakar, also flagged off 21 Disaster Response Force (DRF) vehicles, four Innova cars, 55 Scorpios, troop carrier vans, and bikes which will be used by HYDRAA personnel.
He also launched the new website of HYDRAA developed by the Centre for Good Governance (CGG) on the occasion.
Criticises those opposing HYDRAA
Speaking at the event, Revanth Reddy said that certain leaders with “poison in their thoughts” were opposing HYDRAA and trying to create obstacles for the state government in its endeavour to rejuvenate the Musi River. He said they were spreading propaganda that HYDRAA was only demolishing the homes of the poor.
“Those who encroached lakes, nalas and roads are the only ones opposing HYDRAA. Even if this city is destroyed, people migrate to other places and the city gets washed away they don’t care. You will build palatial farmhouses in Janwada and Erravalli, but you want the poor to live in hazardous conditions on the Musi river bed,” he questioned those opposing HYDRAA.
Recalling the struggle waged for 25 years by former Congress MP V Hanumantha Rao to reclaim the Bathukamma Kunta land and restore it, Revanth Reddy said that this year Bathukamma festival will be celebrated there.
Give suggestions on Musi rehabilitation and resettlement
Revanth Reddy said that the state government was ready to spend Rs 10,000 crore exclusively to rehabilitate and relocate the poor from the banks of the Musi River.
“Where there are government lands we are willing to constructed apartments for them with 400-500 sq ft flats. We will ensure the education for the children. We will protect their businesses and ensure their livelihoods. I want the people to suggest how the state government should provide them an alternative,” Revanth Reddy appealed, directing the HYDRAA officials to list-out all the poor people who will be affected by the Muri Rejuvenation project.
Questions BJP’s double-standards, mocks ‘Musi Nidra’
Criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders (BJP) without naming them, Revanth Reddy questioned their double-standards on the Musi Rejuvenation project.
“If Modi develops the Sabarmati riverfront in Gujarat and Yogi Adityanath implements Namami Gange in Uttar Pradesh it is fine, but if we want to rejuvenate the Musi River they are opposing,” he said, also mocking the BJP leaders who went on a night stay on the banks of the Musi River, but slept inside the houses of their party workers located on the third floor.
Pitches Kancha Gachibowli land issue again
He once again raised the issue of the 400-acre in Kancha Gachibowli where the state government wanted to build an IT Park, an information knowledge centre, which was being obstructed by certain politicians.
“They say environment was being destroyed there. By removing the encroachments from the Musi River, nalas and roads, are we not protecting the environment,” he questioned, asking the people whether it was not the responsibility of the state government to provide land to the companies ready to invest Rs 50,000 crore in setting up their offices and as a result creating lakhs of jobs directly and indirectly.
Need to protect the heritage inherited by us
Reminding how the Quli Qutub Shahis and the Nizams have passed on to us the magnificent heritage of Hyderabad by building Charminar, High Court, Osmania General Hospital, City College, Osmania University, Purana Pul and other bridges across the Musi River, Osmansagar and Himayathsagar reservoirs; Revanth Reddy said that it is the duty of the governments to protect them.
“Bengaluru has seen acute water crisis last summer because of the city becoming a concrete jungle. Cities like Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi are also facing similar crisis. It is not a natural disaster. It is a manmade disaster. If we don’t learn from this crisis and learn lessons, even our city will join the list of such cities. That is why we established HYDRAA,” he noted.
HYDRAA commissioner gives case studies of prompt response
Addressing the gathering, HYDRAA commissioner AV Ranganath thanked the chief minister for giving special powers to the agency, which has helped in speedy decision-making and performing its responsibilities.
He spoke about how HYDRAA has cleared the debris from the lock gates of Gandipet reservoir to facilitate free flow of water into the reservoir, and how it also restored a nala in Dundigal within a day, as an obstruction to the nala was flooding the colonies in that area.
He pointed out how HYDRAA demolished a boundary wall which had made it difficult for the people of a Dalit colony to enter and exit through a very narrow path, as the residents of an adjoining colony had built a wall to prevent the movement of Dalits from their area.
He also mentioned that recently, some youngsters playing cricket near Mahaprasthanam in Film Nagar, had written a letter to HYDRAA informing that a lake which was seen in their childhood days, was now missing. Ranganath said that HYDRAA immediately responded and took steps to reclaim 40 acres of land that was part of that lake.
HYDRAA’s MoU with NRSA
Ranganath informed the chief minister that HYDRAA has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), and through digital elevation and terrain models, it was going to be ascertained exactly to what extent any lake or nala was encroached, while comparing it with the 2006 aerial images.
He said that all the officials in HYDRAA police station were hand-picked after receiving inputs from the intelligence before deputing them.
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