Hyderabad: BRS working president and Sircilla MLA KT Rama Rao has alleged the state govt was adopting different yardsticks for land acquisition and taking over properties for Musi project. He said while the buffer zone is 50 metres on both sides of the Musi, the state govt has given notices to some colonies, including Hanuman colony which is about five km from the Musi catchment area.KTR also demanded that the govt explain the rationale behind inflating a project, originally estimated at 16,000 crore, to 1.5 lakh crore. He further demanded clarity on the number of phases in which the project would be executed, the extent of land acquisition involved, and the number of houses proposed to be demolished. During a chat with the media on Wednesday, KTR said over 10,000 houses were likely to be demolished and over 3,260 acres of land would be acquired. He also questioned the expansion of the buffer zone, stating that local revenue officers claim it has been increased, but the govt has failed to specify the extent and the criteria used for such expansion. “There should be uniform relief and rehabilitation (R&R) scheme for all Musi victims. An apartment residents were offered flats but the poor were ignored. Why is this selective approach?” he asked. “Congress turned the Musi into a polluted drain and the same party is now attempting to exploit the situation for large-scale corruption under the guise of redevelopment,” KTR said, adding “if a DPR exists, it should be immediately tabled in the assembly”. He said while minister Sridhar Babu claimed in the assembly that ADB had agreed in principle to fund the project, direct communication with ADB officials revealed that no DPR had been submitted to them as of Jan 23, and therefore no loan approval had been granted. He added that on March 11, ADB reiterated that it has not approved any loan for the Musi project. The govt must either correct its information or face the charge of deliberately misleading both the assembly and the people. He reiterated that BRS would strongly oppose any decisions taken without transparency, especially those that threaten people’s homes, livelihoods, and properties in the name of the Musi project.
