Harish Rao Accuses State Government of Hidden Real Estate Agenda in Musi River Cleanup

Former minister and BRS Legislature Party Deputy Floor leader Harish Rao strongly condemned the state government’s actions and accused Chief Minister Revanth Reddy of using the Musi project as a cover for real estate interests.

Harish Rao, along with BRS MLAs Sabitha Indra Reddy, Sudheer Reddy, and Madhavaram Krishna Rao, and Rajendranagar BRS in-charge Karthik Reddy, met the families of Madhu Park Apartments who are facing eviction in the name of the Musi Riverfront Project on Sunday.

Speaking to the media, Harish Rao alleged that the Musi project is being pushed without any clear policy, Detailed Project Report (DPR), Final Technical and Legal (FTL) finalisation, environmental clearances, or social impact assessment. Yet, eviction notices are being served to middle-class families. He questioned under what law homes are being vacated when statutory approvals are still not in place.

Recalling the previous government’s approach, Harish Rao said the BRS government had focused on cleaning the Musi by building Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) and preparing DPRs to bring Godavari water into the river, without displacing a single family. He said the vision was to improve Hyderabad’s brand image and public welfare, not to demolish homes.

Harish Rao alleged that every major decision of the present Chief Minister is driven by land deals and real estate business. From attempts to grab Central University land to converting Pharma City into “Fourth City,” he said the pattern shows a clear real estate agenda. The Musi project, he alleged, is now being used to take over prime lands and hand them over to private real estate interests. The BRS MLA questioned how the government claims it has no money for fee reimbursement, pensions for retired employees, and Rythu Bandhu for farmers, but has hundreds of crores for luxury camp offices, mega events, and large payments to contractors. He demanded to know whose pockets are being filled in the name of the Musi project.

He made it clear that BRS is not against cleaning and rejuvenating the Musi, but is firmly opposed to demolishing poor and middle-class people’s homes in the name of development. “Build STPs, stop sewage inflow, use Godavari water to clean the river. But do not destroy people’s lives and lifelong dreams,” he said.