Telangana government to finally take up Musi river project

Hyderabad: After shelving the Musi riverfront development plans for nearly four years, the state government has finally decided to start work on the project. Musi Riverfront Development Corporation (MRDC) will execute the project for phase I, by developing the four km flanking Chaderghat out of the 33 km that stretches from Osmansagar to Golnaka. 

Around 12 international firms have been invited to submit their landscape designs for the project.  MRDC was formed an year ago and this is the first project it is initialising. This decision came after repeated complaints by the residents living alongside the Musi river. Residents have claimed that the stench from Musi is worsening by the day. Musi Riverfront Development project was started during 2006, but the planning remained only on paper. After the formation of Telangana, the state government had decided to give a facelift to the Musi with an outlay of Rs 740 crore with National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD) funding 70 per cent of the project cost. However, due to severe fund crunch the project gathered dust for four years. Meanwhile, the project cost has escalated to Rs 1,665 crore. With the formation of the MRDC, the Telangana state government is expected to contribute Rs 500 crore for the project, while the remaining amount will be raised from banks and other financial institutions. However, the project which commenced in December 2017 has been postponed to December 15 2018.

Municipal administration and urban development minister Mr K.T. Rama Rao through his twitter handle, answered a riverfront resident’s query by saying, “The Musi river rejuvenation work will start soon. Please bear with us for a few more months.”

Shruthika had tweeted “Respected Sir, I am an advocate of High Court, we are witnessing unbearable smell from Musi river which is increasing day by day and I wonder  how the patients of Osmania hospital are able to bear it. I request you to please solve this problem.” 

Commenting on the issue Principal Secretary (Municipal Administration) Arvind Kumar said 12 international firms have been invited to prepare the landscape designs. He said that the designs would be confirmed by June and work on the first four km would be started at the earliest. He said that the government has also asked Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) to simultaneously set up mini sewerage treatment plans at drains connecting Musi River. 

However, the Government did not give any clarity on encroachment removal. Sources claimed that the project could not be executed without the encroachment removal since there are more than 12,000 alongside Musi.