The Musi beautification project in Hyderabad which has been delayed for nearly two decades is set to be revived after the newly-formed Congress government came up with a plan for the same.
At a recent meeting with higher officials of the municipal administration and urban development on January 2, Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy announced that the state government will take up “Musi Riverfront Project” under public-private-partnership mode, without causing financial burden on the state government.
The Musi, a tributary of River Krishna, which originates in Ananthagiri hills in Vikarabad district about 100km away from the city, passes through Hyderabad for about 55km, before entering Nalgonda and merging with Krishna at Vadapally village in Suryapet district on Telangana-Andhra borders about 130km away.
In the first phase, the state government proposes to develop the 55-km-stretch of the Musi River in Hyderabad on the lines of Sabarmati Riverfront Project of Gujarat and Hooghly Riverfront Project of Kolkata.
“He has directed that the areas along the river course be developed into a bustling economic growth centre and a pivotal job creation hub, besides transforming the entire stretch into a tourist attraction,” an official statement said after the meeting.
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According to a Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) official, the chief minister suggested that the design should provide all facilities like amusement parks, waterfalls, children water sports, street vendors, business areas and shopping malls.
“He asked the authorities to select an iconic design which is suitable for people of all walks of life. He told them to study the designs of such riverfront development projects taken up by other states and also in foreign countries,” the official said.
The chief minister advised the officials to take necessary steps to start the related works within three months and complete the project within three years.
“Revanth Reddy asked the officials to take measures to divert rainwater into Musi to manage sudden floods,” the HMDA official quoted above said.
As part of Musi riverfront project, a tourism circuit will be designed by connecting the historical buildings – Charminar, Taramati Baradari and other tourist places situated along the Musi catchment areas.
Historic river turned into a sewage canal
The 55-km long stretch of the historic Musi River in Hyderabad virtually turned into a sewage canal over several decades due to growing urbanisation and large scale encroachments along the river course.
Several non-government organisations (NGOs) like Forum for Better Hyderabad, Save Musi Campaign and Chhatri, besides other environmentalists have been fighting for the river’s revival.
They have been demanding that the river be conserved, as it has several historic monuments namely Purana Pul, constructed during the Qutb Shahi period and Osmania General Hospital and the high court building came up along the river.
In August 2005, the then YS Rajasekhar Reddy government launched a “Save Musi” project at a cost of ₹906 crore, seeking to restore the river, by transforming the entire stretch by cleaning up the riverbed, sewer, retaining water spots, and creating green spaces. He ordered encroachments along the river course to be removed and people rehabilitated to far off places.
According to environmental protection organisation Forum for Better Hyderabad chairman M Veda Kumar, the entire river course in Hyderabad was supposed to be developed into three zones – from Osman Sagar to Puranapul as Ecological Zone, from Puranapul to Chaderghat as Heritage Zone and from Chaderghat up to Uppal as Metro Zone.
“While there are not many objections for the first two zones, there were concerns over the development of Metro Zone, as it would affect the livelihood of lakhs of people on the riverbanks, resulting in large scale commercialisation and destruction of flood plain, which will only add to pollution,” Kumar said.
Following the formation of Telangana in June 2014, the proposed Save Musi project could not make any headway.
In June 2017, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) led by former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao incorporated the Musi Riverfront Development Corporation Limited (MRDCL) to take up rejuvenation, beautification and development of the riverfront at an estimated cost of ₹16,634 crore.
The project also included the construction of sewage treatment plants, three check-dams and 14 new bridges across the river at different parts of Hyderabad.
“In the last six years, the government constructed as many as 31 sewerage treatment plants (STP) in addition to the already existing six STPs, on the Musi River,” Kumar said.
“Now with the new government in place, it wants to take up the Musi Riverfront project all over again. Any such attempt is welcome, but the government has to take all the stakeholders into confidence before going ahead with such a project,” Kumar added.
He suggested that the government should hold discussions with urban planners, environmentalists and even the people who are living on the riverbanks while going ahead with the riverfront project.
