Not in my name: Gandhi’s great-grandson slams evictions for Musi project

Hyderabad: Amid protests from the Opposition over eviction notices sent to residents of Madhu Park Ridge Apartments for the Gandhi Sarovar Project on the banks of Musi river in Hyderabad, Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, joined in the criticism and asked the Telangana government to call off the move.

The Gandhi Sarovar Project, undertaken as part of the Musi Rejuvenation Initiative, aims to restore the ecology, promote sustainable urban development and improve the riverfront.

A “Gandhi Circle of Unity” and the world’s tallest Gandhi statue will also be built at the confluence of the Musi and Esa rivers, where ashes of Mahatma Gandhi were immersed in 1948, the Chief Minister had announced earlier.

Recently, videos surfaced of residents of Madhu Park Ridge Apartments, located on the banks of the Musi river in Langar Houz, alleging they were being forced out of the place after decades of living there.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leaders backed the residents and criticised the government for displacing residents without even having a detailed project report ready.

On February 22, senior BRS leader Harish Rao visited the apartment complex and assured residents that his party will fight to protect their homes.

The next day, Tushar Gandhi also joined in on criticising the Telangana government and called the displacement of residents the most “unGandhian action.”

“Displacing residents to create space for a Gandhi statue is the most unGandhian action. My appeal to the CM of Telangana is to please not do it @revanth_anumula @TelanganaCMO Bapu would have said “Not in my Name, Stop it!””

Meanwhile, the Telangana government’s fact-check page initially denied the displacement of residents and said that since the project was “still in the planning stage,” no budget has been finalised or announced for the project, nor has the government issued any notification regarding land acquisition for this purpose.

However, after BRS leaders called out their claims as “false and misleading” and posted land acquisition notices issued by the Revenue Department, the page clarified saying that land acquisition process has been initiated in Ranga Reddy district for the Musi rejuvenation project but was yet to begin in Hyderabad and Medchal-Malkajgiri districts.