Overview
- Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, who announced the move in the Legislative Council on Monday, named Deputy CM Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, D. Sridhar Babu and Ponnam Prabhakar to the new Cabinet sub-committee and promised rehabilitation for every family displaced by the project.
- The government framed the river effort as part of a wider urban plan, citing Airports Authority of India permission for an under‑runway road at Begumpet, a forthcoming Metro expansion after talks with L&T, and a proposed 40‑km elevated corridor along the Musi from Gandipet to Gourelli.
- BJP state chief N. Ramchander Rao questioned how a project pegged around Rs 1.5 lakh crore would be funded, warned against demolitions, and called current buffer‑zone rules inconsistent for targeting some apartment blocks while sparing high‑rises near the river.
- Water policy adviser Vedire Sriram said the Rs 160‑crore Detailed Project Report has loopholes, faulted the lack of consultation with the Central Water Commission that lenders often expect, and urged a catchment‑to‑confluence plan with wetlands restoration and stronger sewage controls.
- BRS leader K. T. Rama Rao said the DPR is still not ready and claimed expected Asian Development Bank funding has not materialised, urging broad public consultations rather than closed‑door meetings before any work that could affect thousands of households along the river.