Sabitha Indra Reddy Under House Arrest Ahead of Musi Project Public Hearing

Former Telangana minister Sabitha Indra Reddy was placed under house arrest ahead of a public hearing on the Musi River project, prompting her to accuse the state government of imposing Emergency-like restrictions to suppress the opposition.

BRS Leader Sabitha Indra Reddy Placed Under House Arrest

Former Telangana Minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader Sabitha Indra Reddy and her son were placed under house arrest by Telangana Police at their residence on Wednesday. The administrative crackdown came ahead of a scheduled public hearing on the controversial Musi River Development Project at the Water and Land Management Training and Research Institute (WALAMTARI) in Hyderabad.

Reacting sharply to the police action, the senior BRS leader accused Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s administration of imposing "Emergency-like restrictions" to suppress opposition voices and evade accountability over public grievances. Sabitha Indra Reddy alleged that the state government’s immediate reaction to opposition leaders visiting distress zones or attending public hearings is arbitrary detention.

Criticism of the Musi River Development Project

"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. Ever since Revanth Reddy came to power in this state, governance has been reminiscent of the Emergency. 'Don’t go anywhere; don’t do anything.' Orders seem to have been issued by the state CM to track every move of the opposition, especially BRS party leaders," said Reddy.

Questioning the government's priorities, she asked why the state was rushing a ₹1.40 lakh crore project when farmers across Telangana were reeling under drought, power shortages, and crop losses, "Wherever we try to go, whenever a problem arises for the public that the government needs to resolve, their first response is to place us under house arrest and detain us. If the government truly has the capability, they should first instill confidence in the people and then undertake the project... People across the state are reeling under severe drought. Farmers are weeping and committing suicide. Ministers and the Chief Minister themselves are publicly saying there will be no electricity, no water, and warning farmers not to cultivate crops. In such a situation, what is the sudden urgency for this Musi project?"

Allegations Regarding Farmer Welfare

Sabitha Indra Reddy further alleged that farmers purchasing seeds for the second crop cycle were being forced to sign self-declaration waivers absolving the state of responsibility for power outages or crop failures. "Today, when farmers go to buy seeds for a second crop, they are being forced to sign a self-declaration stating: 'If there is no power, the government is not responsible; if crops wither, the government is not responsible; if the farmer incurs losses, the government is not responsible.' They have brought the state to such a pathetic condition that farmers must sign waivers just to purchase seeds," she added.

Contrasting the current scenario with the previous BRS regime under K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), she asserted that irrigation infrastructure was systematically built to eliminate power cuts and water shortages, turning Telangana into a top paddy producer. "How was the state earlier? After Telangana was formed, KCR systematically resolved every issue one by one. Tanks were restored, check dams were built, and irrigation projects were completed. For ten years, without any power cuts or water shortages, farmers cultivated bountiful harvests, making Telangana the state with the highest paddy yield in the entire country," said Reddy.

Government Performance and Project Concerns

She accused the Congress government of political vindictiveness for stalling the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme and shelving the Palamuru-Ranga Reddy project. "And what has happened now? Within just a few months, a well-established and thriving state is being ruined. Is this due to a lack of experience, or is it vindictiveness against KCR? Solely to defame KCR, they have stalled the Kaleshwaram project and shelved the Palamuru-Ranga Reddy project... Water is readily available there. For the past six months, Harish Rao, KTR, and all of us have been urging the government to pump the water... but they completely ignored it."

The former minister slammed the government's power procurement claims and challenged the feasibility of supplying water to the Musi River. "Recently, the Chief Minister claimed: 'If we try to bring water, there isn’t a drop; if we want to buy electricity, power isn’t available.' During KCR’s tenure, electricity was procured for farmers at ₹3.70 to ₹3.90 per unit, regardless of cost. At that time, they alleged corruption and ordered an inquiry. Today, the Chief Minister himself says electricity isn’t available even at ₹12 per unit."

She further criticised the proposed ₹1.40 lakh crore outlay for the Musi project, pointing out that it threatens thousands of families with displacement and colony demolitions. "Now they talk endlessly about Musi. Where will you bring water to the Musi from? You claim you have no money to spend on farmers, but you have ₹1.4 lakh crore to spend on the Musi project! While farmers are dying and suffering without power, instead of allocating funds to rescue them, you hold an urgent public hearing for the Musi project. Are they simply beautifying the river within its course? No. They are demolishing surrounding colonies, displacing thousands of families... The Chief Minister claimed they would bring water from Ranganayaka Sagar to Gandipet, from Gandipet into Himayat Sagar, and then release it downstream into Musi. Yet you didn’t have the willingness to fill Ranganayaka Sagar because KCR would get the credit... People clearly see that behind this project lies blatant corruption."

Expressing outrage over the Chief Minister's suggestion that affected farmers enroll under MGNREGA, she added, "On top of that, the Chief Minister proudly announced: 'I will enroll you all under the Employment Guarantee Scheme [MGNREGA].' Does he intend to reduce self-reliant farmers to wage labourers? A farmer feeds many others through his harvest, and the Chief Minister tells him to go work as a daily-wage labourer!" She demanded immediate financial relief of ₹50,000 per acre for farmers suffering crop losses and vowed that the BRS would continue fighting for farmers, Musi project evacuees, women, and unemployed youth.

The Musi River originates in the Anantagiri Hills and flows eastward into the Osmansagar and Himayatsagar reservoirs, which have historically served as primary water sources and flood mitigation structures for Hyderabad since the 1908 Nizam-era floods. Over the decades, urban catchment degradation, impoundment, and illegal encroachments have reduced the river within city limits to a heavily polluted drain, despite local communities continuing to use the riverbed for washing, grazing, and farming. While the Telangana government has framed the Musi River Rejuvenation Plan as an essential urban rejuvenation, ecological restoration, and pollution control drive to reconnect the historic Old City and modern urban corridors, opposition parties—led by BRS leaders K.T. Rama Rao (KTR), Harish Rao, and Sabitha Indra Reddy—have strongly opposed it, characterising the project as a multi-crore real estate and land-acquisition scheme driven by displacement and administrative corruption.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)