Govt. Will Take Up Musi Project on PPP Basis, Says Revanth

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday announced that the cost of rejuvenating the Musi river would be borne by private players in the public private partnership mode, avoiding any financial burden on the state exchequer.

Interacting with mediapersons who recently visited Seoul, South Korea, to study its riverfront development, Revanth Reddy said that private developers would generate funds for the Musi project by monetising the land parcels that would be given to them on long lease.

He made it clear that the investment outlay of Rs 1.5 lakh crore that he had earlier mentioned would cover not just the Musi project but also all the proposed infrastructure projects aimed at making Hyderabad a global city, like the Metro Rail extension, flyovers and bridges across the river.

The project, once completed, would provide much-needed lung space and an entertainment zone that will be in operation round the clock. Political parties opposing the project should realise that a second cycle of revenue generation will develop because of the economic activity on the rejuvenated river banks at night, Revanth Reddy said.

The Chief Minister wondered why BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao, who made tall claims about his globe-trotting, had been opposing the Musi project though it would accelerate the city’s economic growth while improving the living standards of the poor who were hitherto suffering from the pollution in the river.

He reiterated his appeal to Opposition parties to suggest improvements to his plans on Musi. “If ego comes in their way of meeting me, KTR, Harish Rao and Etala Rajendar, who have been competing with each other to resist the project, may go to Deputy Chief Minister, the district in-charge minister or the Chief Secretary,” Revanth Reddy said adding that he would undertake a padayatra along the Musi, if need be, to sensitise people and politicians opposing the project.

Ruling out the possibility of the state government creating the infrastructure with its own funds, Revanth Reddy said the precarious financial position, a fall-out of the reckless borrowing by the previous BRS regime, would not permit it to meet the expenditure. The Congress government had borrowed Rs 46,000 crore after coming to power 10 months ago but also, during the same period, had serviced Rs 56,000 loans taken by the BRS government. Arrears of thousands of crores of rupees passed on from the previous government were now being cleared, he added.

The Chief Minister said tenders for the project to bring 10 tmc ft of Godavari waters from the Mallannasagar to the twin reservoirs of Osmansagar and Himayatsagar, besides building sewerage treatment plants, would be floated in the next two weeks. Once the works were completed, clean water would be let into the Musi and the Eesa that meet at Bapu Ghat at Langer Houz, where the government plans to build the world’s tallest statue of Mahatma Gandhi, he said.

As part of the decision to implement the Musi project in a phased manner, the Chief Minister said, focus would be on the first phase that would cover joint stretch of 20 km from Himayatsagar and Osmansagar to Bapu Ghat. An international centre to promote Gandhian philosophy and pass it on to the generations would come up, as also off-campuses of world renowned universities, entertainment zones including a giant wheel on the lines of London Eye.

The first phase development will be showcased to the world to attract investments for the remaining phases of rejuvenation of the river, Revanth Reddy explained.