Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday said that the government would place the DPR of the Musi rejuvenation project in the Budget session and give a presentation to the MLAs and the clarity on the estimates for the first phase of the 21 km stretch would come before Sankranti. He said total cost estimates for the Musi Rejuvenation project will be finalised by March this year.

The Chief Minister was intervening while the Minister for Legislative Affairs D Sridhar Babu was replying to a question on the rejuvenation of Musi during the Question Hour in the Assembly on Friday. There was a war of words between the ruling and the opposition benches on the issue.

The Chief Minister said that three companies have formed a consortium to prepare the detailed project report (DPR) for the Musi rejuvenation. The first package is between Osmansagar to Bapughat (9.5 km) and Hiyamatsagar to Bapughat (11.5 km) totaling 21 km. The two rivers Musi and Esa will be connected at Gandhi Sarovar. The state has sought 200 acres of Defence land and the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has agreed to give 100 acres.

The Chief Minister said that the government’s plan was to transfer 20 TMC of water from the Godavari River to the city. The intention is to transfer 15 TMC for drinking water needs of the people of Hyderabad, and another 5 TMC to Gandipet. The transfer of Godavari water will be done at a cost of Rs 7,000 crore. “We will transfer Godavari water to Gandipet within the next two years,” said Revanth Reddy. He also disclosed that the Asian Development Bank has come forward to provide a loan of Rs 4,100 crore for the first phase.

The Chief Minister said that there will be a 55 km elevated corridor between Gandipet to Gowrelly. There will be junctions at Narsingi, Bapughat, Chaderghat and Nagole and every junction would have a trumpet road connecting the Outer Ring Road (ORR) for entry into the city. Stating that the Old City was Original City, the Chief Minister said that the Mir Alam Tank will be developed with Rs 450 crore. He further said that the government would develop a 800-year-old Shiva temple at Manchirevula, an international mosque, a Golden temple like Gurudwara and a Church like Medak Church near Uppal.

He called upon the MLAs to visit foreign countries and give suggestions to the government for developing their constituencies.

The CM said that 60,000 families were displaced in Sabarmati Riverfront in Gujarat, and the UP government had taken up development of riverfront in Ganga. The BJP leaders talk proudly about these projects and the Congress party there has never opposed them.

Referring to main opposition party members, the Chief Minister said that some people sitting here have more poison in their stomach than the pollution in Musi. He said, “Some are having poison in their eyes and if they had not worn glasses, we would have got smashed with their eyes. Vikarabad Ananthagiri Hills is known as 'Vikarabad ki hawa, lakhon marizon ki dawa'. Better send these ‘mariz’ to Vikarabad.” He asked why the BRS leaders did not reside near the Musi while there were heavy rains recently. He alleged that some influential persons polluted even Osmansagar by pumping the sewage of their farmhouses.

The Chief Minister said that real estate was an industry and it was the responsibility of the government to take steps for its growth. “If industry is promoted, investments will come. Opposition leaders are spreading misinformation that the Musi Rejuvenation will be taken up with Rs 1.5 lakh crore and Revanth Reddy will get Rs 25,000 crore,” the Chief Minister alleged.