No forcible evictions for Musi river development, says Dana Kishore

Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration & Urban Development, M. Dana Kishore ruled out forcible acquisition of properties for the Musi river development project, and said any evacuation will happen only with the consent of people.

All the families staying in the river bed have already applied for double bedroom housing, and the same will be provided before taking up any demolition.

Addressing a media conference on Saturday, Mr. Kishore said of the 974 structures, marking has been completed for 576 houses. Of these, a total 406 owners have conveyed their willingness to vacate for 2BHK housing. He cited Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s instructions that not a single person should be forcibly evicted. Already, 50 families from Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy and Medchal-Malkajgiri districts have been resettled in the 2BHK homes. On Saturday too, 150 more families are leaving for the new homes, he said.

Quoting liberally from a report published in ‘The Hindu’, Mr. Dana Kishore said even the Nizam had relocated a large number of people after the 1908 floods, in view of public health, and taken up Musi beautification project. Citing unusual and intense rains for the past five to six years, he said Musi project is the only solution for the water stagnation and inundation issues the city is facing.

Taking the examples of London and Seoul which have built a flourishing city around their rivers, Mr. Kishore said two lakh families were relocated for the riverfront development project in Seoul. Four years later, the temperature around the river came down by 3.5 degrees Centigrade, and 60,000 businesses flourished at the relocated space.

A tour is planned in October to Seoul to study the resettlement, he said.

Musi resettlement will be done in close consultation with the NGOs working in the slums for the past 30 years, he assured, and said schools and Anganwadi centres are being mapped around the relocation sites, in consultation with the School Education department, TMRIES, and Tribal Welfare department, so that academic year is not lost for students. A survey is already underway to enumerate the students in the localities.

Livelihoods too will be taken care of through skill development initiatives in coordination with the Urban Community Development wing of GHMC and MEPMA. Urban Development department will allocate ₹2,500 crore for GHMC alone for Mahila Shakti scheme, and a committee has been formed with young and enthusiastic IAS officers and NGOs to take it forward. Cooperation will be sought also from the corporations of SC, ST, BC and Minorities.

The dwellings in the buffer zone will be valued at double the market price of the plot and structure on the lines of the legal provisions for land acquisition, along with double bedroom housing for the poor.

Published - September 29, 2024 12:40 am IST