Harish Rao Vows to Protect Residents from Demolition Threats Due to Musi Rejuvenation
Hyderabad: Former minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLA Harish Rao visited Madhu Park Apartment on Sunday, February 22, where residents reportedly received eviction notices in relation to the Gandhi Sarovar Project. Rao assured the residents that his party would fight to protect their homes.
He alleged that Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s every move was “motivated by land, panchayat, and real estate exploitation” and that in the name of beautifying the Musi, he was trying to “grab lands and give them to Ambani, Adani, or Megha Krishna Reddy.” Other BRS leaders, including MLAs Sabitha Reddy and Devireddy Sudheer Reddy, also accompanied Harish Rao.
Recalling BRS’s contributions to the apartment, Harish Rao mentioned that when residents were facing water issues, former chief minister and party supremo K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) immediately instructed the Water Board to lay a pipeline. “KCR has an unforgettable connection with Madhu Park Apartment. He prepared the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS, now BRS) party’s policy vision document while sitting in the war rooms here,” Harish Rao said.
He emphasized that while KCR was trying to save the apartment, Revanth Reddy was attempting to demolish it with JCBs. Harish Rao reiterated that the Congress did not have a detailed project report (DPR) for the Musi rejuvenation project and was acting haphazardly. “Everyone wants to clean up Musi. The BRS government also started that work by constructing STPs at a cost of Rs 3,800 crore. We also prepared DPRs to bring Godavari water from Kaleshwaram and release it into the Musi. At that time, our government did not think of demolishing a single house,” the BRS leader stated.
Taking a jibe at the Chief Minister, Harish Rao said that on one hand, Revanth Reddy organizes Miss World competitions and football matches with Messi, but when it comes to providing fee reimbursements to colleges, pensions to retired employees, and Rythu Bandhu support to farmers, he turns away and says the state has no money.
Harish Rao also criticized the idea of spreading fear in the name of constructing a Gandhi statue, which stands for peace and non-violence. He promised to raise the residents’ issues in the upcoming budget session of the Assembly.
The Gandhi Sarovar Project, undertaken by the Telangana government as part of the Musi rejuvenation initiative, aims towards ecological restoration, sustainable urban development, and riverfront improvement. The government plans to develop Bapu Ghat, located at the confluence of the Musi and Esa rivers, into a world-class educational, cultural, spiritual, and environmental landmark, reflecting the ideals and legacy of Gandhi. The foundation stone laying ceremony of the project is scheduled to be held in the last week of February.
