After High Court's rap, GHMC walks out of clean Musi project

Hyderabad: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has decided to walk out of the Musi cleaning project. Following the High Court directions, in a knee-jerk reaction the corporation had decided to remove construction and demolition waste from Musi River. The civic body had neither got any approval from Standing Committee nor the General Body, which is mandatory before starting any work.

Violating norms, the corporation had embarked on work worth Rs 436 crore where 12 lakh tonne of construction and demolition waste had to be removed. The corporation officials finally realised the legality and decided to carry on with debris removal work only if the Government released a GO and assured financial support. Surprisingly, Musi River Front Development Corporation (MRDC) authorities said that they are yet to quantify the data and would take at least one week time to get the actual waste quantity which has to be removed.

According to highly placed sources, the construction and demolition wing officials in a recent review meeting clarified that they cannot carry on with debris removal work in the Musi until they receive clear instructions from the state government in the form of a GO. They also made it clear that if MRDC is facing staff crunch, the corporation is ready to deploy the required staff for the construction and demolition waste from the river. Or else the officials have requested that a resolution is passed in the Standing Committee or General Body meeting in order to get the legal sanction.

Meanwhile officials wondered how can a private agency which has been finalised for transportation and processing of C&D waste of GHMC, carry on the same operations for an independent body like MRDC.

A senior GHMC official on condition of anonymity said that the C&D wing has already conducted a review meeting with Mayor Bonthu Rammohan and clarified about the legal and technical problems of removing debris from the Musi when MRDC was expected to do the same. He said that the C&D Wing will request Ramky Enviro Engineers to waive of bills for removal construction and demolition waste till date and asked them to consider it as an activity under social corporate responsibility. “Even though MRDC was ready to pay for the entire project, we cannot go head with the work without following due process,” the official said. When queried, MRDC officials said that the issue has not come to their notice and cannot comment on it. When asked how MRDC came to conclusion that 12 lakh debris was present in 57-km Musi River as claimed by the corporation, the officials made it clear that they were yet to quantify the debris and accurate weight of the construction and demolition waste would be disclosed in a week's time.