Former Telangana minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader Sabitha Indra Reddy and her son were placed under house arrest by Telangana Police on Wednesday, ahead of a scheduled public hearing on Hyderabad’s controversial Musi River Development Project.
The hearing was scheduled at the Water and Land Management Training and Research Institute in Hyderabad for people affected by the proposed project. Reddy said police officials informed her that she and her son would not be allowed to leave their residence on the day of the hearing.
In remarks reported by Deccan Chronicle, Reddy accused the Telangana government of imposing what she described as “Emergency-like restrictions” to prevent opposition leaders from visiting areas facing distress or attending public meetings. She alleged that police action against opposition leaders had become the administration’s immediate response to public grievances.
“Today, a public hearing was scheduled for the people affected by the Musi project. Because of that, police officials informed us that neither my son nor I would be allowed to leave the house today, placing us under house arrest,” Reddy said.
The Musi River Development Project has become a major point of contention in Hyderabad because of its proposed scale, funding requirements and potential effect on families living along the river and its catchment. Reddy questioned the urgency of the project and alleged that the state was proposing an outlay of ₹1.40 lakh crore while farmers across Telangana were facing drought, power shortages and crop losses.
She also alleged that farmers purchasing seeds for a second crop cycle were being asked to sign self-declarations stating that the government would not be responsible for power shortages, crop losses or resulting financial damage. These claims were made by Reddy and were not independently established in the supplied report.
Reddy contrasted the current situation with the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi government led by K. Chandrashekar Rao. She said that tanks had been restored, check dams built and irrigation projects completed during that period, and claimed that the state had achieved high paddy production. She also accused the Congress government of stalling the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme and shelving the Palamuru-Ranga Reddy project for political reasons.
The former minister further questioned the availability and cost of water and electricity required for the Musi project. Referring to statements attributed to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy about electricity and water availability, she challenged the government to explain how it would supply water to the Musi while citing shortages elsewhere.
The dispute places the project’s public-hearing process at the centre of a wider conflict over urban redevelopment, institutional accountability and the treatment of households that may face displacement or colony demolitions. The supplied report did not include a response from the Telangana government or police to the house-arrest allegations, nor did it provide the project’s official hearing schedule, rehabilitation plan or final approved cost.
The immediate next step was the scheduled public hearing at WALAMTARI, although the report did not establish whether it proceeded as planned or record the government’s response to the allegations.
