Musi riverfront survey becomes bone of contention between Congress, BRS in Telangana

Hyderabad, Oct 1 (PTI) The survey for development along the Musi riverfront here kicked up a war of words between the ruling Congress and BRS with a minister saying K T Rama Rao, working president of the opposition party "should be sent away as mad dogs are taken in a van forcibly." Rama Rao alleged that the state government is indulging in "the biggest scam in the country," orchestrated under the guise of the Musi River Project and that the Congress party is trying to use the project as a financial reserve for elections.

The state government has recently initiated a survey along the river as part of the river beautification programme.

Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy on Tuesday dismissed the remarks of Rama Rao, who alleged that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy government was planning to send Rs 25,000 crore to "Delhi Congress" out of the total project cost of Rs 1.5 lakh crore, saying the project cost would not arise now as the detailed project report is not yet prepared.

He also advised the BSR leader who was educated in the USA to change his attitude.

"It (Musi Riverfront project) is still in the planning strategy. There was neither DPR or any loan (for the project). Where will Rs 25,000 crore come from? I said several times that he (Rama Rao) should be sent away as mad dogs are taken in a van forcibly," the minister said.

He further said he failed to understand how Rama Rao discharged his duties as a minister for ten years during the previous regime.

Rama Rao had said that the budget allocated for the Musi project had been inflated to Rs1.5 lakh crore when the much larger Namami Gange project for cleaning the Ganges cost only Rs 40,000 crore.

"When Rs 40,000 crore was sufficient for over 2,200 km of the Ganges, why is Congress spending Rs1.5 lakh crore on 55 km of the Musi River?" he asked.

The BRS leader questioned the Congress Party’s intentions and called the proposed expenditure a scam in the making.

Rama Rao alleged that CM Revanth Reddy is playing the role of a tyrant for Musi River victims as the families are crying for justice, yet the Congress leadership remains deaf to their pleas. PTI GDK VVK KH