No Rethink On Musi River Rejuvenation: Sridhar Babu

Telangana IT and Industries Minister Sridhar Babu today reaffirmed the government's commitment to rejuvenating the Musi river, and said that there was "no going back" on the project despite resistance.

"Whenever a good initiative is taken, there will always be forces that try to obstruct it. The same is true of the Musi. But for the sake of future generations, we will complete this mission. Telangana will stand as a role model in water resource conservation," the minister said.

He was speaking after inaugurating the South Zone Conference of the Institute of Town Planners India (ITPI) at a hotel in Banjara Hills. The theme of the conference was "Policies and Strategies Towards Biophilic Urbanism".

Babu said that urban planning formed the foundation of economic prosperity, and that true development needed to go hand in hand with environmental sustainability. "Constructing buildings alone does not constitute growth. Every policy we frame, every forest we protect, every river we restore and every livelihood we create - these are acts of intergenerational justice," he said.

The minister also said that Telangana had already set national benchmarks in urban greenery expansion, carbon-neutral growth, water conservation and sustainable transport.

He also spoke about the role of technology in designing climate-resilient cities, and called for planning that addressed climate change, urban flooding, pollution, groundwater depletion, shrinking green cover and rapid urbanisation.

The conference was attended by ITPI President N K Patel, Secretary General Kul Shrestha, Coordinator (Techno Admin) Pradeep Kumar, and Telangana Regional Chapter Chairman S Devender Reddy and Secretary K Muralidhar Reddy, along with several town planners and policy experts.