HYDERABAD: BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Tuesday wanted to know from the government if it would return the lands acquired for the Hyderabad Pharma City.
Participating in the discussion on Budget demands in the State Legislative Assembly, Rama Rao expressed displeasure over the government “not taking forward” the construction of Pharma City.
Recalling that the BRS government acquired 12,000 acres of land for the Pharma City, he said that the present government shelved the project. “If the Hyderabad Pharma City is shelved, is the government ready to return the lands acquired from the farmers,” Rama Rao asked.
He noted that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has announced that the government would return the lands to farmers. The government should announce when it is going to return the lands, he demanded. The BRS member expressed concerns over the state government’s proposal to spend Rs 1.5 lakh crore on the beautification of Musi river. “All the STPs required for the beautification of the Musi were completed by the BRS government. The BRS prepared plans for beautification with an estimated cost of Rs 16,000 crore,” he said.
He also demanded that the government make public the detailed project report (DPR) of the Musi scheme.
Rama Rao said that the construction of flyovers and bridges and SRDP and SNDP works were stopped midway in Hyderabad. The works were stalled due to the non-payment of bills, he said.
“Though Rs 5,000 crore were required for the construction of elevated corridors in Hyderabad, the state government allocated only Rs 700 crore in the Budget,” he said and wondered how the government was going to complete these works.
‘Conduct Budget session for 20 days’
Stating that the Assembly debated around 19 Budget demands in a single day and the session lasted till 3 am, he said that the government should conduct the next Budget session for 20 days. Recalling that there were 57 new members in the House, Rama Rao said that they would get an opportunity to speak in the House if the session runs for over 20 days.
Opposition walkout
The BRS members staged a walkout from the Assembly on Tuesday when the government refused to constitute the House Committee to look into the alleged scam in paddy purchases by the Civil Supplies Corporation. The BRS members first staged a protest in front of the Speaker’s podium. When the government turned down their demand, they staged a walkout.
