GO 111 SCRAPPED, PANEL TO FRAME GUIDELINES

WHAT’ IN NEWS: Government of Telangana scrapped the ‘Government Order (GO) 111’ which was passed by the Government of erstwhile (undivided) Andhra Pradesh in 1996 to prohibit the development or construction works in the catchment area of the historic Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar lakes up to a radius of 10 km, thus freeing it from the development regulations.

ABOUT THE LAKES/RESERVOIRS:

• The lakes came into being during the reign of the last nizam Osman Ali Khan (1911-48). Osman Sagar was completed in 1921, and Himayat Sagar in 1927. The nizam’s guesthouse at Osman Sagar is now a heritage building.
• The reservoirs were created by building dams on the Musi (also known as Moosa or Muchkunda) river, a major tributary of the Krishna River, to protect Hyderabad from floods. The proposal to build the dams came after a major flood during the reign of the sixth nizam Mahbub Ali Khan (1869-1911) in 1908, in which more than 15,000 people were killed.
• The total catchment area covers around 1.32 lakh acres, spread over 84 villages.
• The lakes had been supplying water to Hyderabad for nearly 70 years and were the main source of drinking water for the city at the time.

WHAT DID THE ORDER TALKED ABOUT?

• The GO 111 order prohibited the setting up of industries, residential colonies, hotels, etc in the catchment area of the Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar lakes up to a radius of 10 km, which cause pollution.
• The aim of the restrictions was to protect the catchment area, and to keep the reservoirs pollution-free.

WHY HAS THE GOVERNMENT WITHDRAWN PROTECTION TO THE CATCHMENT AREA OF THE LAKES?

• The Chief Minister of Telangana state, Mr. K Chandrashekar Rao said in the Assembly that the city no longer depends on these two reservoirs for water supply, and there was no need to continue with the restrictions on development in the catchment radius.
• He said that Hyderabad’s drinking water requirement has increased to more than 600 million gallons per day (MGD) and it is being drawn from other sources including the Krishna river. 
• The dependability on these reservoirs for drinking water has come down to 1.25% now as compared to 27.59% when the GO was issued.

WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT DOING TO ENSURE THAT THE TWO RESERVOIRS ARE NOT IMPACTED ADVERSELY AS A RESULT OF THE WITHDRAWAL OF RESTRICTIONS?

Withdrawal of the GO is subject to the condition that the water quality of the two reservoirs is not impacted in any manner.

• The government has set up a committee headed by the chief secretary to frame rules and regulations of development around the two lakes.
• Several sewerage treatment plants (STPs) are proposed in the area, and pipelines or canals will be dug to divert the treated water away from the lakes.
• The government also proposes to establish large green zones, earmarking of green zones, throughout the area, which will remain free of any development.
• The committee will recommend ways to create infrastructure in the area, especially the laying of roads and drainage pipelines, without causing too much damage.
• Construction activity will be strictly monitored and regulated.
• Efforts should be initiated by the government to improve the water quality, maintenance of groundwater quality, minimisation of pollution by agricultural runoff etc.
• The committee’s terms of reference include suggesting measures for the protection and prevention of pollution, including modalities for the development of trunk infrastructure such as roads, major drains, diversion drains, means of resource mobilisation for the same, appropriate institutional framework to take up the infrastructure in order to regulate the development, and necessary regulatory measures to be insisted to grant layout or building permissions, necessary changes in legal framework, and others.

The order does not stipulate any timeframe for recommendations but seeks report at the earliest.

WHAT ARE ENVIRONMENTALISTS AND ACTIVISTS SAYING?

• Environmentalists and activists are criticising the Telangana government for withdrawing an over 25-year-old government order protecting the historic Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar reservoirs in Hyderabad, which they say will destroy the fragile  surrounding ecosystem.
• Activist Dr Lubna Sarwath, state president of the Water Resources Council, criticizes the government’s decision is reckless as it will doom the two lakes since they are still an important water source for the city. A huge concrete jungle will come up around them. There are already over 10,000 illegal constructions around the two lakes.
• Himayat Ali Mirza, a great grandson of the last nizam, too has appealed to protect the lakes from destruction and has asked the government to not scrap GO 111.