Press Release: Open Appeal to CM, Telangana & Cabinet Sub Committee from 500 + Musi Project affected and Citizens, Activists Across India: Review Riverfront Project, Stop Displacement and Safeguard Musi River Basin Ecology
napm india
From: Musi Jan Andolan <musijan...@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Mar 24, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Subject: Open Appeal to CM, Telangana from 500 + Musi Project affected and Citizens, Activists Across India: Review Riverfront Project, Stop Displacement and Safeguard Musi River Basin Ecology
To: <c...@telangana.gov.in>, <c...@telangana.gov.in>, <revant...@yahoo.com>, <revant...@sansad.nic.in>, <sec...@telangana.gov.in>, <splse...@telangana.gov.in>, <osd...@telangana.gov.in>
Cc: <rahul....@mpls.sansad.in>, <off...@rahulgandhi.in>, <meenakshi...@iyc.in>, Jairam Ramesh <jair...@gmail.com>, <jai...@sansad.nic.in>, <mallikarj...@sansad.nic.in>, <m.kh...@sansad.nic.in>, <bhattivikr...@gmail.com>, <madhir...@telangana.gov.in>, <md-m...@telangana.gov.in>, <jtmd-...@telangana.gov.in>, <ce-m...@telangana.gov.in>, <mus...@gmail.com>, medha....@gmail.com <medha....@gmail.com>
Musi Jan Andolan
(Independent People’s Movement to safeguard River Musi and communities living on its banks)
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Open Appeal to CM, Telangana from 500 + Musi Project affected and Citizens, Activists Across India
Review Riverfront Project, Stop Displacement and
Safeguard Musi River Basin Ecology
[Summary Translation of the Letter in Telugu is also enclosed]
24th March, 2026
To,
Shri Revanth Reddy,
The Chief Minister,
Government of Telangana.
Hyderabad
Sub: Appeal to CM & Cabinet Sub-Committee to Review Riverfront Project, Stop Displacement and Safeguard Musi River Basin Ecology
Respected Chief Minister,
We are writing to you, as part of our ongoing effort to engage constructively with all stakeholders, including the Government of Telangana, on the crucial issue of Musi River Rejuvenation. We believe that the proposed project is still at a nascent and conceptual stage and hence, as you had stated in your public address on the 13th March, you would be open to feedback in the interest of the river and people, both on the banks of Musi and of Telangana at large.
We acknowledge your announcement in the State Assembly on 23rd March regarding the formation of a Cabinet Sub-Committee on Musi Rejuvenation and your assurance that ‘all families affected by the Musi Project would be taken care of by the Govt’. We wish to state emphatically that the Cabinet Sub-Committee must diligently consider scientific and democratic alternative proposals for river rejuvenation and river basin ecology conservation and not just be limited to 'overseeing implementation of flawed Riverfront Project'. We also want to emphasize that the State Govt must focus on minimizing mass displacement in the first place, instead of undertaking avoidable displacement and acquisition for a massive commercial infrastructure project and then ‘granting rehabilitation’.
We are once again disturbed to witness news reports that the ‘ground breaking ceremony’ for Phase-I of the Musi Rejuvenation Project would be held on 28th March, 2026 by laying stone for Gandhi Sarovar Project. And in the event the Union Defence Minister accepts your invite, this ceremony may happen on the 2nd April (Deccan Chronicle Report dt. 17th March). The CMO has not countered this news, as far as we understand. It is in this background we wish to place our concerns before you in a comprehensive manner. We also submit our preliminary response on MD, MRDCL Presentation and the Special Address of the Hon’ble Chief Minister on the Musi River Rejuvenation Project (Phase-1)
At the outset, we emphasize that Musi Jan Andolan (MJA) is an independent, non-party people’s platform and movement to safeguard River Musi and communities living on its banks. We reiterate our complete independence from all political parties and our strong support for ecologically sound river-basin planning that safeguards the river’s natural flows, prevents pollution at source, and protects the rights and livelihoods of riparian communities without resorting to large-scale displacement or purely commercial riverfront development.
As you are aware, in the backdrop of the letter from social activist Medha Patkar to the CM and the invitation from the office of the Dy CM, a 12-member delegation of Musi Jan Andolan (MJA), comprising activists and affected persons, met Shri Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu, the Deputy Chief Minister of Telangana at Praja Bhavan on the night of 12 March, 2026. We presented before him and other Cabinet Ministers MJA’s long-standing demands and concerns regarding the Musi Riverfront Development Project. We were particularly concerned with the hurried unveiling of the ‘detailed project plans’ for River Musi Rejuvenation Phase-1, without prior democratic and consultative processes. A more detailed note on the proceedings of the meeting is attached here below. [Annexure - I]
At the end of the 2.5 hours meeting, the Deputy Chief Minister extended a last-minute oral invitation to MJA to attend the Taj Krishna event. The MJA took a principled stand not to participate in what we saw as a grand event with a severe democratic deficit. However, we keenly observed the proceedings and presentation digitally, to understand the government’s vision and the direction of this Project, which would have serious implications for the ecology, economy and people of Hyderabad and Telangana, at large.
On behalf of MJA, we submit this Preliminary Response on the Power Point Presentation by MD, MRDCL and CM’s Special Address on Musi Rejuvenation, of which a Riverfront Project is a central aspect. We shall continue to analyze all the Government presentations, documents, public addresses and provide detailed responses, as and when necessary. We remain fully committed to the objective of genuine river rejuvenation and look forward to engaging with you in the days ahead.
We note that the project is being promoted as river rejuvenation. However, certain core elements presented appear to require further examination in the light of established principles of hydrology, ecology, and sustainable urban river management. In particular, we observe that:
- Successful international examples (London, Singapore, Korea, and Paris) spent decades cleaning their rivers before adding public amenities. Building riverfront aesthetics before cleaning the water achieves only superficial results, while the river stays polluted. Constructing parks, walkways, and tourism infrastructure will not clean the river. Global successes like the River Thames and Singapore River prove that industrial and municipal (sewerage) pollution must be completely stopped first. Without this, the Musi will remain polluted no matter what is built on the banks.
- Pumping water from distant rivers and construction of concrete embankments does not constitute sustainable rejuvenation and could have implications for flood management, groundwater recharge, and urban heat.
- We believe that a living river is best served by preserving natural floodplains, wetlands, and ecological corridors rather than extensive structural and human-made interventions alone.
In addition to the above, the presentation by MD, MRDCL and your address contained certain factual details and policy positions which we wish to place before your notice, seek clarifications, and invite your action. We list these observations below for ready reference:
1. Your address repeatedly stressed the Government’s pro-people approach and commitment to avoid unnecessary eviction. However, these statements only ring ominously hollow in the context of arbitrary and inhumane demolitions of 300+ houses carried out in October, 2024 in Shankar Nagar, Malakpet and other old city areas. We also wish to draw your attention to the pending grievances in CM Prajavani concerning rehabilitation following these demolitions.
2. We are also deeply concerned that multiple land acquisition notifications have already been issued and there was no reference to this in the presentation by the MD or your address. G.O.Rt.No.921 MA&UD (Plg-I) dated 16th December 2025, has identified 10,017 structures and 3,279 acres of land for ‘all phases of the project’ and exempted the entire project from the social impact assessment under the Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (RFCTLARR Act). This GO was issued by invoking Section 10A of the RFCTLARR Act 2013, which was introduced through a State amendment in 2017 by the previous BRS government. It is utterly unbecoming of the Congress Government to continue with this regressive amendment to the landmark pro-people legislation enacted by the UPA-II Govt.
3. The presentation by the MD, MRDCL clearly indicated a tentative development cost for Phase-1 (excluding land acquisition and TDR) of ₹6,500–7,000 crore. This cost is significantly higher than the project cost of ₹5,641 crore submitted earlier by MRDCL to the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA). We request clarification on the revised cost estimates.
4. Your address also mentioned that “there are hardly 10,000 families” that are residing along the entire Musi riverbanks, a number that was arrived at by the Government only after four months of household level surveys by hundreds of officers (at 2:24:30-2:25:35 of LIVE: CM Revanth Reddy Attends 'Musi Invites' – A Presentation on Musi Rejuvenation Phase I | MRDCL by Telangana CMO YouTube). However, the application for fresh grant of ToR for Phase-1 submitted by MRDCL to SEIAA refers to 12,204 families likely to be displaced in Phase 1A & Phase 1B alone. We are unable to rationalize these drastically different numbers as to the number of families that will be displaced for the Musi Riverfront Development Project in each phase. We question how the scale of displacement is being assessed and whether viable non-displacing alternatives have been explored at all.
5. We noted that your address placed significant emphasis on the pollution caused by industrial effluents (at 1:59:35-1:59:45 of LIVE: CM Revanth Reddy Attends 'Musi Invites' – A Presentation on Musi Rejuvenation Phase I | MRDCL by Telangana CMO YouTube) and the proposed setting up of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) in the powerpoint presentation. We note that STPs address municipal sewage but do not treat toxic industrial effluents, for which Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) are required. We request details of the strategy to regulate, de-toxify and treat industrial discharges into the Musi and also a conceptual clarity from the Government as to why displacement of this scale is required without setting up ETPs for ensuring a clean river.
6. The power point presentation referenced international riverfront models as economic powerhouses. We believe it would also be useful to incorporate the primary lesson from those cities: complete elimination of industrial pollution prior to amenity development.
7. The floods of 2025 were attributed primarily to heavy rainfall. Affected residents and Musi Jan Andolan have stressed that no early warning was issued that the river water was being released from the two reservoirs, even when there were ample predictions two days before that heavy rain was inevitable in the city. This rhetoric sidesteps crucial violations and gaps in implementation of the Dam Safety Act, 2021 and some fundamental safety protocols for releasing waters from dams into the downstream. The Government is not addressing its own accountability to the people for poor dam safety management. In the interest of public safety and transparency, we suggest that you may also examine the adequacy of early-warning systems and adherence to the Dam Safety Act, 2021, particularly regarding reservoir releases. After all, that is a minimum component while studying the flow and range of Musi river.
8. Your address rightly highlighted the city’s groundwater crisis. We welcome your concern, However, immediately thereafter, it was mentioned that the Musi project would support water supply for global data centres (At 2:23:05-2:24:00 of LIVE: CM Revanth Reddy Attends 'Musi Invites' – A Presentation on Musi Rejuvenation Phase I | MRDCL by Telangana CMO YouTube). It is clear that the objective of the Musi project is to supply water to these extractive, exploitative, and anti-people data centres. We seek clarification on how the project balances the city’s domestic and ecological water needs with industrial requirements.
9. The vision of restoring the river to its natural heritage was presented alongside plans for human-made barrages to facilitate boating. We request you to elaborate how the construction of barrages aligns with the National River Conservation Plan and the Central Water Commission’s Technical Guidelines on Flood Plain Zoning (July 2025), while preserving the river as a living ecological entity.
10. References were made to secularism as a guiding principle of the project. We believe that communal harmony and protection of the rights of all citizens are the true foundations of secularism. A secular fabric should not necessitate mega multi-faith infrastructure, that invariably would cause huge displacement.
11. Finally, the invocation of Gandhi to justify this socio-ecologically unwise project and cause massive displacement is hugely insincere and unsettling. There seems to be a huge gulf between Gandhi’s vision of people’s rule and the Praja Palana claim of the state government. Gandhi did not believe in exorbitance and extravagance, whereas the proposed Gandhi Sarovar and Musi Riverfront are premised on lavish infrastructure that would come at huge social and ecological costs.
We urge you and the Cabinet Sub-Committee to undertake a comprehensive review of the project, including a detailed social, ecological, and financial cost-benefit analysis, and to explore ecologically sound, least-displacement alternatives. We place these urgent demands before you and invite your wisdom and stated vision of ‘Praja Palana’ to ensure fair action:
1. Public release of a draft Detailed Project Report for the entire project (not just Phase 1) in English, Telugu and Urdu, and the marked river boundary and buffer zone, with a minimum 60-day period for submissions of suggestions and objections from all stakeholders.
2. Immediate withdrawal G.O.Rt.No.921, MA&UD (Plg-I), 16.12.2025 and G.O.Rt.No.816, MA&UD (Plg-I), 15.11.2025.
3. Detailed dialogue under your leadership with representatives of the affected communities and Musi Jan Andolan, along with concerned officials and public hearings in the Musi-affected areas.
4. Immediate withdrawal of all land acquisition notifications issued for the project, including those invoking the 2017 amendments.
5. Immediate withdrawal of The Telangana Gazette Part-II Extraordinary No. 764, 17 December 2025, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority, Draft Variation to the HMDA for Comprehensive Master Planning for Musi Riverfront Development Project Construction of East West Corridors along Musi River.
6. Constitution of an independent committee for comprehensive review of the project from a river-basin approach, addressing alleged violations of the 2013 Act and shortcomings in the Environmental Impact Assessment.
7. Passage of legislation in the Telangana State Assembly to repeal the 2017 amendments and restore the 2013 LARR Act in its original form.
We reiterate our strong support for ecologically sound river-basin planning that safeguards the river’s natural flows, prevents pollution at source, and protects the rights and livelihoods of riparian communities without resorting to large-scale displacement or purely commercial riverfront development.
Finally, Sir, it is not just MJA and the affected communities raising these important concerns, but also sane voices within your own party like Ms. Meenakshi Natarajan (AICC Telangana Incharge) who has been writing publicly on the issue and also to you and the Dy CM, calling for dialogue with MJA, restoration of 2013 LARR Act, discarding the riverfront approach and a comprehensive overhaul of this Project. We hope you will engage with an open mind on all the feedback as this concerns the lives of lakhs of people, future generations and future of Musi itself.
Thanking you for your attention and looking forward to your positive response.
Medha Patkar, Sagar Dhara, Shabnam Hashmi, Prof. Rama Melkote, Fr. Cedric Prakash, Dr. Veena Shatrugna, Donthi Narasimha Reddy, Prof. Navdeep Mathur, Dr. Jasveen Jairath, Dr. S Seethalakshmi, Rukmini Rao, N. Venugopal, Gautam Bandopadhyay, Pittala Srisailam, Dr. Lubna Sarwath, Kanneganti Ravi, Ruchit Asha Kamal, Dr. Indu Prakash, P. Shankar, Kirankumar Vissa, Amitraj Deshmukh, Vishalakshi, Anand Reddy, Uma Shankari, Kalyani Menon Sen, Jeevan Kumar, Sajaya, V Sandhya, Varghese Theckanath, Syed Bilal, John Micheal, Arunya, SQ Masood, Meera Sanghamitra, Akhil Surya and many others.
The full list of 500 signatories is marked as Annexure-II
Copy to:
1. Shri Rahul Gandhi, Indian National Congress
2. Shri Mallikarjun Kharge, President, Indian National Congress
3. Shri Jairam Ramesh, INC
4. Ms. Meenakshi Natarajan, AICC In-charge, Telangana
5. Shri Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu, Chairperson, Cabinet Sub-Committee on Musi Rejuvenation
6. Chairperson, Members, and Invitees, Musi Riverfront Governing Board (MRGB), Government of Telangana constituted vide G.O. Rt No.105, MA&UD (UBS) Department, 29.02.2024]
Annexure - I
Summary of Meeting with the Deputy Chief Minister and Cabinet Ministers D Sridhar Babu, Vakiti Srihari, and Adluri Laxman on 12th March, 2026:
Along with the Deputy Chief Minister, Cabinet Ministers D Sridhar Babu, Vakiti Srihari, and Adluri Laxman were also present in this important meeting. Notably, the ‘invitation’ for this urgent meeting, one day prior to the Chief Minister's unveiling of the ‘detailed project plans’ for Phase-1 was extended orally to MJA by the Deputy CM, in the backdrop of the strongly-worded letter by prominent social activist Medha Patkar to the CM on 10th March, 2026, to halt the hurried event on 13th March and instead initiate a process of detailed democratic dialogues with MJA and affected communities.
We had the opportunity to share several of our long-standing and fundamental concerns during our meeting with the Deputy Chief Minister and other Cabinet Ministers on 12th March 2026. We sincerely hope that the insights offered — drawn from ground realities, scientific principles, and the lived experiences of affected communities — will be given due consideration.
Deputy Chief Minister Shri Bhatti Vikramarka and ITE&C Minister Sridhar Babu heard all the concerns expressed and indicated that the primary objective of this Project is only ‘river rejuvenation’. They assured the MJA that the Government is ‘fully committed’ to democratic process and people’s well-being and will not undertake any forcible and non-consensual eviction or displacement.
Echoing all the demands articulated by Medha Patkar in her appeal to the Chief Minister, the MJA called for the immediate suspension of the unveiling event scheduled for 13th March, 2026 and the public release of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) not just for one phase, but the entire Project in English, Telugu, and Urdu, along with the marked river boundary and buffer zone maps, with a minimum period of sixty days for all stakeholders to submit their suggestions and objections. Narrating their grievances, those affected insisted that river rejuvenation can be possible through zero displacement and de-toxifying the river of industrial pollution, regulating industries and the Govt must ensure the same, instead of evicting thousands of families from their hard-built homes. The delegation called for a meaningful process of dialogue and public hearings with the communities.
The MJA delegation also strongly demanded the immediate withdrawal of G.O.Rt.No.921 MA&UD (Plg-I) dated 16th December 2025, which identified 10,017 structures and 3,279 acres of land for all phases of the project and exempted the entire project from the democratic consultative process of social impact assessment under the Land Acquisition and Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (RFCTLARR Act). This GO was issued by invoking Section 10A of the RFCTLARR Act 2013, which was introduced through a State amendment in 2017 by the previous BRS government.
The MJA emphasized that it is unbecoming of the Congress Government in Telangana to continue with the regressive amendment to the landmark pro-people legislation enacted by the UPA-II Govt. The MJA further demanded that the Telangana Government must repeal the 2017 Amendment to the RFCTLARR Act 2013, to demonstrate its real commitment to ‘Praja Palana’.
Referring to official communications received from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on 11th March, 2026 and 23rd January, 2026, indicating no loan approval as on date, the MJA condemned the deliberate and widespread misinformation via media and even conveyed by the Government on the floor of the Assembly that the ADB has agreed to provide funding of 4,100 crore INR. The MJA fundamentally questioned the necessity for the Government to acquire a huge chunk of 3,279 acres in the heart of Hyderabad for the purported rejuvenation of the river and asked the Govt to justify the claimed ‘public purpose’ of the Project itself.
The Dy CM clarified that the grand event on 13th March at Hotel Taj Krishna does not constitute the release of the Detailed Project Report, but is merely a ‘Power Point Presentation’ by the Chief Minister, outlining the objectives and scope of the project. He further stated that the presentation to be delivered by the CM will be made publicly available through a website and that public suggestions and objections will be invited via the same platform.
The Dy CM claimed that reports of the Chief Minister inviting Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to inaugurate the Gandhi Sarovar project are ‘false propaganda’, although the MJA delegation said the same was published through a Press Release titled “Hon’ble CM Shri A. Revanth Reddy has invited Hon’ble Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh to the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Gandhi Sarovar Project” on 12 February 2026 on the Telangana State Govt Portal. MJA also strongly stated that the Govt simply cannot and should not brush aside all legitimate and evidence-based concerns of the communities and people’s organizations as ‘propaganda’ and instead constructively engage with the same.
The MJA maintained that the credibility of the State Government is seriously undermined in view of the non-transparent, undemocratic processes and the arbitrary demolitions of nearly three hundred houses along the banks of the Musi River in October 2024. The delegation demanded that all project-related information be placed in the public domain, pro-active disclosures be made under RTI and that the Government refrains from proceeding further with house markings and evictions and instead initiate inclusive, informed and meaningful consultations with all affected communities and independent people’s collectives.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the MJA reiterated its principled position that the way to river revival is not through commercial river fronts but through ecologically sane river basin planning. Concretization of a living river, the construction of a series of real-estate and infrastructure projects within the river's buffer zone from which the Government plans to displace thousands of people, and the commercialization of a living river do not constitute genuine rejuvenation in the interests of the river and its riparian communities.
Annex – II: List of 500 Signatories
|
Sl. No. |
Name |
Organization / Profession |
Location |
|
1. |
Satyavati |
Individual |
Hyderabad |
|
2. |
Sajaya Kakarla |
Independent Journalist & Social Activist |
Hyderabad |
|
3. |
A.Suneetha |
All India Feminist Alliance |
Gachibowli, Hyderabad |
|
4. |
N Venugopal |
Journalist |
Hyderabad |
|
5. |
S.L.padma |
State secretary, TUCI |
Hyderabad |
|
6. |
Vijay Raj |
Rainbow homes |
Not applicable |
|
7. |
Girija |
CMS |
Hyderabad |
|
8. |
Nikhil Singh Thakur |
Private Employee |
Gandamguda, Hyderabad |
|
9. |
Ramu |
Virsam |
Mehidipatnam |
|
10. |
Varghese Theckanath |
CHATRI |
Hyderabad |
|
11. |
Dr Md Khaja |
Writer |
HYDERABAD |
|
12. |
Shailajha |
Yoga trainer |
Shailajha |
|
13. |