Musi Oustees Will Also Get House Sites

SEOUL (SOUTH KOREA): In a major policy outreach to smoothen the rehabilitation and resettlement of Musi oustees, the state government has in principle decided to provide house sites also to the displaced.

The government has already announced allotment of two-bedroom houses for people resettled from the Musi riverbed. In some cases, some families have been relocated from the riverbed.

In an informal chat with media persons from Telangana who are visiting the South Korean capital city to study river rejuvenation projects, revenue and I&PR minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said all the families, living hitherto either in either riverbed or buffer zone, will get house sites along the Outer Ring Road.

"We are planning to provide house sites of 150 sq. yards to 200 sq. yards to each family besides 2BHK flats," he said.

Maintaining that he discussed the proposal with Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy a few days ago, Srinivas Reddy said the Chief Minister was keen on extending a liberal package for the displaced. "All that we may need is 500 to 600 acres which we can easily arrange by removing land-grabbers from government land," the minister said.

Referring to agitations by people against the resettlement, the minister said the government was sympathetic to their loss of property and would arrange short-term and long-term benefits for them. "Opposition parties are trying to fish in troubled waters. The moment the people are convinced that they have got a better rehabilitation package, the protests will stop," Srinivas Reddy said.

The minister said that the number of families to be relocated would be 13,000 at the most, some of whom were legitimate patta holders.

Transport minister Ponnam Prabhakar, who is also Hyderabad in-charge minister, said the Congress government had never used force to shift the people, and instead would constantly engage with and convince them to relocate. He criticised the Opposition parties for obstructing the growth ofcity.

Bhongir MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy, legislators Malreddy Ranga Reddy, Prakash Gound and K. Yadaiah, mayor G Vijayalakshmi, deputy mayor M. Srilatha, MA&UD principal secretary M. Dana Kishore, I&PR commissioner M. Hanumantha Rao and Musi Development Corporation joint MD P. Gauthami are accompanying the ministerial delegation.