Not STPs, but encroachments in FTLs must be demolished!

Leading environmentalist Dr. Lubna Sarwath has called for the urgent demolition of illegal structures in the 111GO region of FTL. The government allegedly released water down the Himayat Sagar without even filling it in order to protect them. Dr. Lubna described in great detail the consequences of scrapping 111 GO and other things, calling it a terrible thing to squander resources merely to safeguard those illegal structures.

” We conducted field surveys and spoke to the farmers besides collecting the information under the Right to Information Act (RTI). But when we went there, four floodgates of the Himayat Sagar were lifted. More than 1,000 cusecs of water are being released. One cusec is equal to 28 litres. We should understand why they are releasing the water. In the official maps, many encroachments were marked. Meanwhile, new structures have come within the FTL. Then we understood why they were releasing the water even though the Himayat Sagar was not filled completely. They are releasing the water required by the people only to protect those illegal structures.

Moreover, the area of the reservoirs has been reduced when compared to the original maps. For example, the capacity of the Osman Sagar is 5 TMC with FTL. But they had tampered with its map. The holding capacity of Osman Sagar had been reduced to only 3 TMC. Moreover, its holding capacity is 10 TMC as per the original figures. It means the capacity has been reduced to half of its full capacity. Without removing the silt and illegal structures, they are releasing the water by lifting the gates. They should remove the encroachments from the FTL first. But they are releasing the water without realising that they were wasting drinking water required by the people.

There is no answer about the drinking water issue of the people and about the possible floods when they wanted to remove GO 111. There was no scientific study too. Moreover, what ‘green city’ would come up under the catchment area of the reservoir? There is no information on what STPs are. We asked for the committee report, but it was not given. Then we asked for the old committee reports, but they were also not given. They have not given an answer under RTI too.

Are they working for the benefit of the farmer, no? They are saying only one word. They have revoked GO 111 as the farmers were asking to do so to sell their lands. But they do not talk about the laws. Moreover, they do not give the details of farmers. When asked, they remain silent. People should know why the government wanted to scrap the GO. We went there and asked the farmers about scrapping the GO 111. But the farmers are saying they were not interested in selling the land.

No Ban

There are two important issues under GO 111. It has been clearly mentioned prohibited constructions like big hotels, malls, polluting industries and high-rise buildings, clearly mentioned in the limits of catchment areas of the reservoirs as per GO 111. However, agriculture, horticulture, or floriculture can be taken up. Is farming not development? During the Covid-19 pandemic, agriculture was the only sector which was allowed. Don’t we need to develop this sector? We need to supply water and seeds. If the farmers are assured that they would get the marketing facility for their produce, who will sell their lands? Think once. You (the government) are provoking them to sell their lands and turning them from landlords to poor. Lifting GO 111 is a huge injustice to them.

Why refrain from utilizing natural water resources available in Hyderabad
There should not be a water scarcity in Hyderabad. The Musi River is passing through the middle of the city. There are thousands of tanks located on either side of the river. Moreover, hundreds of wells and reservoirs are there. In addition, we are receiving good rainfall. We are in a position to give water to others as we have sufficient water. But the government is talking about bringing water through Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS). While abandoning all these natural sources and converting water bodies into real estate ventures, they are forcing people to sit on their knees for drinking water. Why do we need to bring water from outside? Hand over the Ministry to us, and we will show you how we can supply water to others. They are saying that the water would come to us crossing many barriers. What about the fate of the farmers of those places? It seems they are bringing water forcibly from them.

CM KCR’s statement lacks a scientific basis:

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao says that the water in Krishna and Godavari Rivers are getting wasted in the sea. But this is an unscientific statement. Water should reach the sea. One per cent of water must go into it. Why are you letting out water in Musi River under the GHMC and HMDA limits? Do you want this water go to waste, but bring water all the way from Kaleswaram? Is there any law or science? Does it even make any sense? They keep saying that we need development. But who are they? What does development mean? In fact, what is city development mean? The city is stinking along the roads that we travel. There are nalas everywhere which are ready to turn into Hussain Sagar. We have also taken a video where the Nala water is polluted so much. We will release it. It is wrong to bring water to Hyderabad from far-off places.

What will you do in case of floods?

They don’t speak to the Opposition parties or the stakeholders including the people. They don’t consult scientists to seek their opinion. GO 111 was in force for 27 years. During the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, the then TDP government gave permission to Surana Oil Mills. But the Supreme Court said it was wrong. But the Telangana government is stating that they were doing better than the previous governments of Andhra Pradesh. In that case, scrapping the GO 111 is nothing but allowing hundreds of such units in the area. This government is following the same path as the erstwhile Andhra rulers. This government is going against the judgment of the Apex court and also the law itself. If GO 111 is being lifted based on five scientific study reports, why they are not able to disclose even one scientific report? There are properties of big people and houses in the area. There are no farmers or people. There is no solution in place, if there are flash floods in Hyderabad. On our part, we made some recommendations. Rather than setting up the STP, the area should be declared as a dry-latrine zone. If dry latrines are used, there will be no sewage pollution.

Must prevent Delhi-like hazards:

I am not a member of the TPCC. I am not speaking on behalf of them. I am an independent member in the TPCC’s fact-finding committee. They asked us for a report. We gave the report to TPCC chief A Revanth Reddy and senior leader Kodanda Reddy. We made some recommendations. Scientists said that there would be more rains in the future. There is a need to harvest the water received in the area located between reservoirs and Ananthagiri hills. The capacity of the reservoirs must be increased to bring back them to their original status. Then there will be more drinking water for people.

* Illegal structures should be razed in the catchment areas and silt should be removed from the reservoirs. When there were rains in Pune, such illegal structures were demolished. Along the same lines, they should be removed here too. If all these things are done, there is no need for setting up 22 STPs. If the farmers are provided marketing facilities and water besides good prices for their produce, they won’t sell their lands. Delhi is getting inundated due to encroachments of the river. To avoid such calamity in Hyderabad, we need to protect the environment and improve it. We must do our duty.