Hyderabad: Stating there are many flaws in the Telangana govt’s approach to the Musi rejuvenation project and riverfront development, former advisor to jal shakti ministry Sriram Vedire has said the govt should first take up rejuvenation and development later. He said the major flaws in the Musi project are that nothing is planned in the upper catchment from Ananthagiri/Parigi to Osmansagar or Himayatsagar (the first stretch) and also in the lower catchment from Nagole to Wadapally (Krishna-Musi confluence) in Nalgonda district.“Rejuvenation should be first priority and development next. Without rejuvenation, riverfront development is meaningless,” Sriram Vedire said.Giving a presentation on ‘River Musi’ organised by BJP Telangana on Sunday, Sriram Vedire, who is an advisor to the Maharashtra CM on water policy and management, said the govt has taken up the project with many gaps and lack of clarity on many issues.“There is no clarity on how the buffer zone of 100 metres on each side has been calculated (many are scared of displacement). Both reservoirs, Osmansagar and Himayatsagar, were built, one in 1920 and one in 1927 – as per code number 11223 of 1985 guidelines with probable maximum flood (PMF), which needs to be considered rather than standard project flood (SPF). The govt should also clarify whether safety analysis of both the dams, like dam break analysis, was done as per the National Dam Safety Authority Act or not,” Sriram Vedire said.The BJP leader said before taking up rejuvenation, the state govt should remove encroachments in the protected zone, flood plain zoning should be done as per Central Water Commission (CWC) guidelines, make sure that sewage never flows into River Musi, and only then riverfront development should be done, the irrigation expert said.He said there were many gaps in the planning of the second stretch from Osmansagar/Himayatsagar to Nagole. Sriram questioned the clarity on the connectivity of all sewerage lines to the sewerage network that would be connected to sewage treatment plants (STPs), on the coverage of all the nalas to the sewerage interceptor, on the correct placement of STPs that were already constructed and also newly planned STPs, and restoration of all the stormwater drainage nalas and their management.BJP state president N Ramchander Rao said that their party supports Musi rejuvenation but was against the way the govt plans it without any proper plan and the eviction of the poor for no reason. “The govt is more focused on real estate development around the river. BJP will stand by the people who are getting displaced with no valid reason,” he added.
