The Musi river is set for a ₹1,665-crore makeover on the lines of the Sabarmati in Ahmedabad.

Once a picturesque river on whose banks the High Court, Osmania Hospital, and Charminar stand, the Musi has become a mess due to neglect over the years.

KT Rama Rao, Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister, recently announced that a ₹1,665-crore plan is being prepared for the beautification of the river.

Following a meeting with the Musi Development Corporation, it was decided to clean up the mess in the river, the Telangana Government plans to take up its beautification on the lines done on the banks of river Sabarmati in Ahmedabad.

The beautification drive is to be taken up in two phases with the first phase entailing an outlay of ₹956 crore and the second one ₹709 crore.

As per the perspective plan, the Government expects to pitch in with ₹500 crore for the project and make arrangements for the rest of the amount by tying up with banks and financial institutions.

While calling upon the officials concerned to speed up the works on the Musi beautification, not just clean up, but includes development along the banks, the Minister, is personally supervising a number of infrastructure projects.

To explore various options for the beautification of the river, a team of officialsalso visited Gujarat.

The government is keen to replicate the Sabarmati upgrade model. In order to complete the project in a time bound manner, a phased development would be taken up. Pushing for early implementation of the project, the Government has called for a concerted effort and has also released necessary initial funding.