HYDERABAD: Accusing the state government of conceiving the Musi Riverfront Development Project with the aim of looting public money for the Congress high command, BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Saturday alleged that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy was attempting to extort builders under the guise of the HYDRAA.
Speaking to reporters after inspecting Sewage Treatment Plants at Nagole, Rama Rao held the Congress and TDP governments in undivided Andhra Pradesh responsible for polluting the Musi river.
Disclosing that former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had decided to beautify the Musi by setting up 31 STPs at a cost of Rs 4,000 crore, he said: “The BRS government planned to construct 15 bridges over the river with an allocation of Rs 500 crore and aimed to link Godavari water to Musi with Rs 1,100 crore. Our estimated cost for the Musi project was Rs 2,5000 crore, but now, the Congress government has escalated it to Rs 1.5 lakh crore.”
In response to the CM’s challenge to live in the vicinity of the Musi for three months, the Sircilla MLA said: “Not just three months, I will live there for three years. I grew up in Nimboliadda and Moazzam Jahi Market, which are very close to Musi. If you want to send money to Delhi, we will collect donations and give it to you, but don’t trouble the poor.”
He demanded the chief minister explain how the government plans to get Rs 1.5 lakh crore for the Musi project where it claims that there are insufficient funds to implement the six guarantees.
Rama Rao assured that the BRS stands with the victims and questioned how the government plans to evict and demolish houses without a detailed project report (DPR). He reiterated, “This is not a beautification project, it is a lootification project.”
