BRS Walks Out Of Assembly Over Musi Corruption

BRS working president and MLA K T Rama Rao today clarified that the party was not opposed to the rejuvenation of the Musi river but strongly opposed "a massive Rs 1.5 lakh crore financial scam" being carried out in the name of the project.

Registering a strong protest against the government's approach, he staged a walkout from the Assembly along with other BRS MLAs.

During the session, BRS MLAs, including KTR, Sudhir Reddy, Kaleru Venkatesh and Bandaru Lakshma Reddy, strongly questioned the government on several critical aspects related to the Musi project.

The legislators expressed doubts over the preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR), and criticised the large-scale demolition of houses, land acquisition, escalation of project costs, and contradictory statements made by the government at different forums.

Rao demanded that the government explain the rationale behind inflating a project originally estimated at Rs 16,000 crore to an alleged Rs 1.5 lakh crore.

He asked how the Chief Minister cited Rs 1.5 lakh crore in public statements while figures of only Rs 4,000 - Rs 5,000 crore were mentioned in the Assembly.

He also sought clarity on the number of phases in which the project would be executed, the extent of land acquisition and the number of houses proposed for demolition. He said that according to official gazette notifications over 10,000 houses were likely to be demolished and more than 3,260 acres of land would be acquired.

He also questioned the expansion of the buffer zone, stating that local RDOs had claimed that it had been increased but the government had failed to specify the extent and the criteria used.

KTR also criticised the government for its "lack of transparency", and said that there was no clear answer on whether a DPR even existed. He said that even the Managing Director of the Musi River Development Corporation reportedly stated that no DPR was available.