GO 111 area would be made sustainable dvpt zone: Konda

Times have changed. In the past, industries were known to pollute surroundings while agriculture was environment-friendly. Today, it’s exactly the opposite. Sectors like information technology and knowledge-based industries are totally non-polluting - Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, former MP & BJP candidate for Chevella LS seat

Hyderabad: Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, former MP and the BJP candidate for Chevella parliamentary constituency, said that both the Government Order No. 111 and the GO No. 69 that was issued last year to replace it, should be repealed and the area that falls under them should be converted into a sustainable development zone.

“Times have changed. In the past, industries were known to pollute surroundings while agriculture was environment-friendly. Today, it’s exactly the opposite. Sectors like information technology and knowledge-based industries are totally non-polluting. But vegetable cultivation is polluting the environment now as farmers are using pesticides. So, it doesn’t make sense to retain 111 GO anymore,” Vishweshwar Reddy, the richest MP candidate in Telangana and among the richest in fray across India, told Bizz Buzz.

On March 8, 1996, the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) Department of undivided Andhra Pradesh government issued GO No. 111 to protect catchment areas of Himayatsagar and Osmansagar lakes which were main sources of drinking water to Hyderabad at that time. This order prohibited polluting industries, major hotels, residential colonies or other establishments that generate pollution, in the catchment of the lakes up to 10 kms from full tank level of the lakes, covering 84 villages. On April 4, 2023, the MA&UD of the BRS government in Telangana issued GO No. 69, lifting curbs imposed under GO No.111. However, guidelines have not yet been issued.

“I am the only one who has been fighting against GO 111. I wrote three letters to the then Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. He kept on postponing it. Finally, his government issued GO No. 69 which is even worse. GO 111 had clearly spelt out what had to be done, what not. That’s not the case with GO No.69,” he said.

Some MLAs and MPs built farmhouses in the area and they are now thinking that they have removed GO No. 111. They are not aware of the administrative process required for removal of GO 111, he added.

Reddy said that development and environmental protection could go hand in hand. “For example, if Apple puts up a 300-acre campus here, it will ensure that the environment is not only protected, but it will also be enhanced. That’s what they are doing at other places. They will convert this into a forest. That’s what I am aiming for”.

According to him, the entire area under GO No. 111 would be converted into such a sustainable development zone. “Our main objective is to do that. Thanks to the foolishness of the BRS government, many unauthorised buildings and structures came up in the area after GO No. 69 was issued,” he said.

Vishweshwar Reddy said he did a lot of research on the issue. “I spoke to professors and experts. I know the history of this land. There were similar restrictions during Nizam rule also. The GO. 111 was issued for the right reason of protecting the lakes. But it’s no longer useful,” he said.