Hyderabad: A citizens’ platform working to protect the Musi River has urged the State Level Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) to reject the environmental clearance sought for Phase 1A and 1B of the Musi Riverfront Development Project, calling it a real estate-driven venture dressed up as ecological restoration.
Musi Jan Andolan (MJA), a non-party citizens’ platform, said in a representation to the SEAC that the project’s road component has more than tripled since the initial terms of reference (ToR) were granted, from 17.85 hectare to 64.37 hectare, while green cover has nearly halved from 109.41 hectare to 55.65 hectare.
MJA said Rs 1,836.42 crore, more than a third of the project cost, is earmarked for roads and bridges, with hard engineering works such as toe walls and retaining walls accounting for another Rs 1,887.39 crore. It alleged the absence of a cost breakup masks the scale of concretisation.
Displacement, data gaps flagged
The organisation said the ToR-stage application had put the number of families to be displaced at 12,204, with 1,400 structures identified, but the EIA report brings this down to around 639 structures without explanation.
It also flagged that groundwater was monitored at only five of the mandated 25 locations, and soil tests skipped pharmaceutical pollutants despite the Musi’s known contamination. Earthwork involves cutting 44.94 lakh cubic metre of soil, equivalent to filling around 1,700 Olympic-size pools, MJA said, adding that the EIA ignores the Dam Safety Act, 2021, and urban heat stress.
MJA noted the project is exempt from a Social Impact Assessment (SIA) under the amended Section 10A of the land acquisition law, and said the Rs 7,000-crore project offers only about 400 long-term jobs against displacement likely to run into tens of thousands.
“Mass displacement to make way for concrete embankments and roads is ecologically destructive, socially unjust and entirely avoidable,” the platform said, urging SEAC to recommend rejection of the clearance.
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