Musi Riverfront Development unveiled: Rs 6,500–7,000 Cr plan aims to revive river Musi
HYDERABAD: In a city built on the banks of the Musi, the river has long been forgotten, reduced over decades to a polluted, flood-prone drain interweaving through some of Hyderabad’s most historically rich neighbourhoods. That, according to E.V. Narsimha Reddy, IAS, Managing Director of the Musi Riverfront Development Corporation Limited (MRDCL), promises a sweeping transformation that could redefine Hyderabad like never before.
Speaking at a stakeholder consultation on the Musi Riverfront Development Project, Reddy unveiled a sweeping, science-backed master plan that goes far beyond beautification. “Just not cleaning the river, just not making some pathways and showing that river cleaning happened, it is not like that,” he told the gathering, drawing a sharp line between cosmetic fixes and the structural transformation his team has designed.
The project’s first phase covers two critical river stretches, from Gandipet (now rechristened Gandhi Sarovar) to Bapu Ghat, and from Himayat Sagar to Gandhi Sarovar, a combined 21 kilometers of the Musi. The total outlay for Phase 1 is estimated between Rs 6,500 crore and Rs 7,000 crore, covering seven integrated components that Reddy insists must all work together for the project to succeed.
Those components are, river cleaning and accumulated silt and debris removal, river-bed profiling, flood mitigation and slope stabilisation, roads along the river bank (an east-west corridor), trunk sewer mains to intercept sewage before it enters the river, water retention structures to maintain perennial flow, and full riverfront development for public recreation. “The plan is comprehensive,” Reddy said. “Unless we treat the entire sewage across the city and stop it from directly entering the Musi without treatment, again the Musi cleaning is not happening.”
“Unless we understand the science, safety, and hydrology of the river, it is haphazard planning, and it cannot sustain.” At the heart of the project is a rigorous hydrological study that Reddy says sets it apart from past attempts. Using two internationally recognised modelling tools, HEC-HMS (Hydrologic Modeling System developed by the US Army Corps of Engineers) and HEC-RAS (River Analysis System), his team simulated flood behaviour across the Musi’s catchment area. Usman Sagar’s catchment spans 740 square kilometers from Ananthagiri, Himayat Sagar’s extends 1,362 square kilometers.
The modelling showed that the Himayat Sagar reservoir was designed to handle up to 1.53 lakh cusecs of water, yet during the 2025 floods, only 36,000 cusecs were released. “Unless we see the downstream of the river properly and do the section, again the floods will happen,” Reddy said. The National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee has independently vetted and certified the findings.
Based on the study, the project proposes that the river channel be maintained at 100 metres on either side from the centre line, a 200-metre total cross-section. Within this, the lower promenade handles one-in-25-year return period flows of around 60,000 cusecs, the upper promenade, at 124 metres, is designed to contain a once-in-100-year flood event of 26,300 cusecs without any spillover. Toe walls and graded slopes will replace abrupt embankments to ensure the river’s speed is not suddenly obstructed.
Reddy was careful to note that the 50-metre buffer zones mandated on both sides of the river are not a Telangana government invention. They are prescribed by the Central Water Commission under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, reiterated in Telangana Government Orders 168 of 2012 and GO 7 of 2016, and further reinforced by the CWC’s Technical Guidelines on Flood Plain Zoning issued in July 2025. “It is not the state’s thing,” he said. “No permanent construction is allowed in the protected area.”
For the Musi to flow clean and full throughout the year, two parallel interventions are essential. The first is sourcing fresh water. The Godavari River linkage project, already underway under the Hyderabad Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB), will bring 20 TMC of water along the Outer Ring Road to feed Usman Sagar and Himayat Sagar. Of this, 2.5 TMC has been exclusively earmarked for Musi rejuvenation, ensuring the river has perennial flow to support boating, recreation, and the night economy Reddy envisions along its banks.
The second intervention is sewage. Hyderabad currently has 25 existing Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) with a combined capacity of 772 MLD, 27 new ones totalling 1,106 MLD have already been commissioned, and 39 more with a capacity of 972 MLD are progressing under the Amrut scheme. As part of Phase 1, diversion drains, called trunk mains, will be laid along the Musi to intercept sewage from nalas before it enters the river, channelling it to four nearby STPs. An underground STP is also being planned, the first of its kind in Hyderabad.
Plan to transform polluted river into tourism and transit hub
“If you see the Singapore model, they call it P water, treated sewage utilized for various purposes. Why not we use it? That is exactly what this project is talking about.” But Reddy’s most forward-looking proposal concerns what happens after the sewage is treated. Invoking Singapore’s widely admired NEWater model, he announced that tertiary-treated water from these STPs will be supplied to industries, particularly the data centres mushrooming around Hyderabad, as well as construction projects and green belts along the ORR. At present, HMWSSB charges industries Rs 160–Rs180 per kilolitre for potable water. Tertiary-treated water, Reddy said, could be supplied at Rs 70– Rs 80 per kilolitre, easing pressure on drinking water supplies brought expensively from the Godavari and Krishna rivers hundreds of kilometers away.
To retain water in the river year-round and enable the tourism and economy Reddy speaks of, three barrages are planned along Phase 1, at Gandhi Sarovar, Narsingi, and one additional location. These will be supplemented by 14 bridges (9 new, 5 upgrades of existing low-lying causeways), forming part of a wider east-west corridor along the river.
That corridor is one of the project’s most practically transformative elements. A six-lane, 30-metre main road within the buffer zone, running from Gandipet to Narsingi on one side and connecting to the Vijayawada, Bijapur, and Bombay highways, could reduce the journey from Gandipet to Gowrelli from 91 kilometers via inner-city roads to just 43 kilometers in approximately 45 minutes. “This reduces travel time, fuel consumption, and decongests Hyderabad’s internal roads,” Reddy said. The DPR for the elevated corridor, to be developed on the TOT (Toll-Operate-Transfer) model used for the ORR expressway, is expected within a month, with financial modelling being handled by Cushman & Wakefield.
Perhaps the most symbolically charged element of the entire project is the development of Gandhi Sarovar the renamed Bapu Ghat, spread over 200 acres where the Musi and Isa rivers converge. Reddy explained that this site holds deep historical significance: in 1948, Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes were distributed to 12 rivers and two ocean confluences across India. This sangam of the Musi and Isa was one of those chosen, and 66 acres were set aside to create Bapu Ghat, where the government pays tribute every January 30th.
The proposed development at Gandhi Sarovar will centre on a tower of approximately 100 metres, housing a Gandhi museum, a handloom training centre, a research centre, cultural and exhibition spaces, a meditation and wellness village, and public promenades with viewing platforms from which visitors can photograph the city skyline alongside a 123-foot statue of the Mahatma. A Ferris wheel inspired by the London Eye, conceived using Gandhi’s spinning wheel as its motif, and an auditorium are also planned. “If we develop this place, it becomes a happening place, that is the whole idea,” Reddy said.
In a statement that drew particular attention, Reddy articulated a secular vision for the Musi riverfront. Alongside Qutb Shahi Tombs, Taramati Baradari, the British Residency (now Government City College), the High Court, Osmania General Hospital, Mecca Masjid, and Charminar, all within a short walk of the river, the project plans to restore and connect sites of every faith community.
These include an 800-year-old Veerabhadra Swamy temple at Manchireval, a mosque near Mecca Masjid, a gurudwara in the Gowliguda area, and a church at Nagole. “Musi is not only a river,” Reddy said. “It is the river that connects heritage, culture, tourism, and also the secular fabric of this city.” He urged the Chief Minister to proceed explicitly on a secular model of urban development.
An agreement with the World Monuments Fund India is already in place for restoration studies across five heritage structures, with an Adopt a Monument policy, available through the Tourism Department and the Quli Qutb Shah Urban Development Authority, inviting industry participation.
Reddy confirmed that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for Phase 1 is complete. Contrary to some public misconceptions, he said, the DPR exists and the first stakeholder consultation was the meeting at which he spoke. The DPR will be placed online for public feedback and suggestions within a week, with a dedicated website and QR code already prepared.
“Every great river transformation was built on collective will,” Reddy concluded. “The collective will is already there in the government. I request all of you to join that collective will, turning to industry leaders, elected representatives, and civil society alike , in turning this vision into reality.”
