Telangana CM Revanth Reddy unveils Musi River revival vision
HYDERABAD: Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy passionately championed the state’s bold Musi River Rejuvenation Project, revealing a sweeping Rs 6,500–7,000 crore blueprint to breathe new life into the Musi River. He dismissed claims that the initiative would displace thousands of vulnerable families living along its banks.
Addressing a gathering of lawmakers, cabinet ministers, urban planners, environmental experts, and industry representatives, the Chief Minister outlined a vision that encompasses flood control, groundwater recharge, cultural revival, and economic regeneration along the river’s 55-kilometre stretch through the city. “The work we undertake today is akin to the work the Nizam accomplished 100 years ago, work from which we continue to reap the benefits even today”, said Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy.
The Musi River Development Corporation has devised a plan that spans the river’s course from Osman Sagar (21 km to Gandhi Sarovar) and Himayat Sagar (11.5 km to Gandhi Sarovar), with development zones extending 100 metres on each side of the river’s centre line. The total project cost of Rs 6,500–7,000 crore includes infrastructure, flood management, roads, an economic zone, and heritage restoration. Contrary to opposition claims, the Chief Minister stated that the Gandhi statue component accounts for merely Rs 70–75 crore, less than two percent of the total outlay.
The government has engaged global consultancy firms, including Manhattan Associates, Cushman & Wakefield, and Rio , at a combined fee of approximately Rs 160 crore, selected through competitive global tenders. The plan also envisages diverting 20 TMC of water from the Godavari River, of which 2.5–3 TMC will maintain a perennial flow through the city and the remaining 17.5 TMC will serve as drinking water supply. The river channel will be standardized to a 100-metre bed width to prevent the dangerous narrowing that caused catastrophic flooding in 2019–20, when over one million people were displaced.
In what appeared to be a direct response to mounting concerns from opposition parties, civil society groups, and residents’ associations,. Revanth Reddy emphatically denied that the project involves mass evictions. The state has completed a door-to-door enumeration of all families in the river catchment area over four to five months, deploying hundreds of officials. Based on this survey, 10,500 double-bedroom houses have been earmarked specifically for displaced families.
Crucially, the government has pledged to construct these houses in situ , within the same assembly constituencies and in close proximity to residents’ existing livelihoods , after acknowledging that distant relocation would sever their ties to local employment. Announcing a specific initiative in the Amberpet constituency, the Chief Minister said 20–25 acres of the 150 acres of government land available there would be developed into a residential colony complete with schools and healthcare facilities for Musi riverbank residents.
One of the most striking appeals in the Chief Minister’s address was his invocation of the health crisis afflicting Nalgonda district, located downstream of Hyderabad. He described the Musi as a toxic channel carrying pharmaceutical effluents, city sewage, remains from crematoriums, and animal carcasses , a cocktail of pollution the World Health Organization has deemed to render stretches of the region unfit for human habitation due to dangerously elevated fluoride levels. He noted that young women from villages along the river basin face serious complications in pregnancy and childbirth, and that crops irrigated by the contaminated river water are unfit for consumption.
“Do the people of Nalgonda district truly deserve such a punishment?” the Chief Minister demanded. “Who bears the responsibility for protecting these citizens? Are the people of Nalgonda not our own?”.
Beyond ecological restoration, the Chief Minister articulated an expansive economic case for the project. With Hyderabad’s population projected to grow from 1.34 crore to 2.80 crore by 2050, he argued that investing now in blue-collar employment, a riverside night economy, tourism infrastructure, and treated water supply for industry is an imperative , not a luxury. He noted that Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) built as part of the project will supply recycled grey water to data centres, construction companies, and pharmaceutical firms at Rs 70–80 per kilolitre, compared to Rs 180 per kilolitre for freshwater , a saving of over 60% , thereby attracting investment worth potentially lakhs of crores of rupees to the state.
He also announced that the Army has agreed to hand over more than 100 acres at Bapu Gandhi Sarovar, currently used as a training facility for Agnipath recruits, to support the project’s development around Bapu Ghat, the confluence of the Musa and Isa rivers where Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes were immersed.
Clearly addressing opposition parties, without naming them directly , the Chief Minister challenged those who once held power at the Centre for twelve years and in the state for a decade to provide constructive criticism rather than obstruction. He asserted that the flood management norms the project enforces were legislated by the Central Government itself, adding pointedly that its MPs had applauded the legislation when it was passed. He directed all suggestions to a publicly accessible website and proposed an open debate in the Legislative Assembly.
In a colourful rhetorical flourish, the Chief Minister offered to provide container houses fitted with amenities at 200 spots along the river’s banks for every critic who opposes the project, inviting them to live there for three months under current conditions. “Why are you toying with the lives of these people?” he said, referring to the riverbank residents. “Shouldn’t their lives be filled with light?”.
Throughout his address the Chief Minister drew repeated parallels between the proposed project and the Nizam’s response to the catastrophic 1908 Musi floods, which killed 10,000–15,000 people. He credited the Nizam with commissioning legendary engineer Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya to design the Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar reservoirs, completed in 1921, which continue to serve Hyderabad’s water needs over a century later. He urged the audience to ask whether present-day leaders could aspire to leave a comparable legacy, pointing to global models including New York’s Hudson River waterfront, London’s Thames embankment, Seoul, Singapore, Dubai, and Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati Riverfront as inspiration.
The Chief Minister closed with a personal note, describing himself as a product of government schools from a middle-class agricultural family who governs by observation. “I believe that by performing good deeds and proving useful to this society, I can truly give meaning and purpose to the opportunity that has been entrusted to me,” he said, reaffirming his commitment to taking the project forward with public consensus while stressing that the government website remains open for suggestions from citizens, experts, and civil society alike.
