Hyderabad: After wasting five years doing virtually nothing, the Musi Riverfront Development Corporation (MRDC) has now decided to embark on another video drone survey to compare the number of encroachments that have mushroomed across the corridor since the last one in April last year.
MRDC officials will also compare the results of the drone survey with data on encroachments provided by the revenue department, which had conducted yet another survey — a manual one this time — in 2016 and identified 8,529 structures in eight mandals on the banks of the river Musi.
Sources in MRDC said that despite budgetary allocation, the corporation has not received funds from the government, and the video drone survey will not make any difference or show anything different from the survey conducted in 2016.
According to highly placed sources, the revenue wing identified 667 encroachments in Asifnagar mandal, 989 in Amberpet mandal, 4,225 in Bahadurpura mandal, 73 in Charminar mandal, 517 in Golconda mandal, 499 in Himayatnagar mandal, 650 in Nampally and 903 in Saidabad mandal.
Ignoring this manual survey conducted by the revenue wing, the MRDC in April 2018 conducted a drone survey, which did not reveal the number of encroachments that have come up after 2016.
Even though budgetary allocation of Rs 754 crore has been made, the Musi corporation has utilised just Rs 3.12 crore, that too on salaries and a drone survey.
Sources said that the corporation has not been involved in any exercise directed by the High Court.
The High Court has directed the removal of encroachments on the Musi, stopping contaminated water from entering into the river, constructing sewerage treatment plants and rejuvenating the river at the earliest.
Saying it is following the High Court’s direction, the corporation evicted scrap sellers and tricycles parked beneath Puranapul bridge, claiming that these were encroachers!
Officials said that the previous drone survey has become irrelevant now, since some of the data has been erased due to human negligence and involvement of too many stake holders like HMDA, GHMC, HMWSSB, Revenue department, Police and Pollution Control Board.
A senior MRDC official on condition of anonymity told this newspaper that the corporation would conduct a video survey afresh since several encroachments were invisible during the previous survey. He said that as a pilot project a video survey has been conducted on the three kilometre stretch from Puranapul to Chaderghat.
Based on the result a final call will be taken on the 58 km Musi stretch.
“Crucial encroachments on Musi banks were missing in the previous drone survey. When we tried to compare the number of encroachments with the details provided by the Revenue department, there was a huge difference. Against this backdrop, the corporation has now decided to embark on a video survey for accuracy,” the official said.
He said that the same has been notified to the government and is awaiting its approval.
