Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy along with his Cabinet colleagues addressing a press conference on Musi River Clean up and Rejuvenation programme at Dr. BR Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat in Hyderabad.
| Photo Credit: File photo
The Musi River Front Development project will be taken up entirely in the public-private partnership mode, as the government is not in a position to foot the expenditure, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has categorically stated.
In an exclusive interaction with the media team that returned from the officially-sponsored tour of Seoul city in South Korea, Mr. Revanth Reddy asserted that revenue generation model alone is successful and sustainable, and that the Musi River project is poised to be the “next level of revenue generation for the capital city which is the economic engine for the state of Telangana”.
In the first phase of the project, 20.5 kilometre length along two streams beyond Bapughat till the twin reservoirs will be taken up for development, he said. The two streams are from Osmansagar (Musa) with 11 kilometres, and Himayatsagar (Esi) with 9.5 kilometres.
Bapughat, which houses the mortal remains of Mahatma Gandhi, will be developed as a ‘vegetarian and eco-friendly’ destination, complete with installation of the tallest Gandhi statue and launch of a Gandhi Ideology Centre there.
The government is targeting 1 lakh tourist footfalls in the circuit, through development of world class educational, entertainment, and health facilities. A giant wheel along the lines of London Eye, a nature cure hospital, off campus colleges of world renowned universities and educational institutions, and eco-friendly theme parks are a few concepts shared for the development.
Starting from the Qutb Shahi Tombs up to Langar Houz, the entire stretch will be developed as tourist destination. There are also plans to develop street markets which would run 24×7 in two cycles of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 a.m. Tenders will be floated in the first week of November for channelising Godavari river water from Mallannasagar up to Osmansagar, and from Osmansagar, a canal will be dug into the Himayatsagar, so that the water could enter Musi river from both the reservoirs.
A check-dam barrage-cum-bridge will be constructed at Bapughat, from where purified water will be released downstream of the river. The CM said drawings for Phase-I will be ready in 45 days.
Mr. Revanth Reddy apportioned the ₹1.5 lakh crore expenditure being repeatedly cited by the Opposition, to various components of city’s development, including Metro Rail extension, Regional Ring Road, radial roads, sewage treatment, road infrastructure, drinking water and land acquisition for Musi development, among others.
Assuring that the Musi-displaced people will be amply compensated, he sought to differentiate between Hyderabad Disaster Response and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) operations to evict the affluent from the lakes, to rehabilitation measures for the Musi project.
A survey had been carried out for six months through 33 teams before rehabilitation was taken up, and ₹2 lakh was given to each family apart from double-bedroom dwellings.
A team of corporators and legislators will be sent to Seoul city soon, to observe the river front development there for replication in Musi River Development, the CM said. He received feedback from the media team on the subject, and assured to convene an all-party meeting soon.
Published – October 29, 2024 10:01 pm IST