KCR Cheated Telangana on River Water, Says Revanth

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday alleged that BRS president K. Chandrashekar Rao had compromised Telangana’s river water rights for the benefit of Andhra Pradesh and offered to convene a two-day special session of the Legislature to expose his predecessor.

He asked Chandrashekar Rao to choose any two dates in coordination with the Assembly Secretariat to convene the session, where the Chief Minister said he intended to present records explaining how the BRS government had cost Telangana its rightful shares of Godavari and Krishna waters.

Speaking at a victory meet near the Secretariat to mark the disbursal of Rythu Bharosa funds to 70 lakh farmers in nine days, Revanth Reddy criticised the previous BRS government for leaving various irrigation projects incomplete despite spending massively on the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme (KLIS).

He said that the completion of projects that the previous Congress government had planned could have significantly expanded the availability of irrigation areas. “The Kalwakurthy project required just Rs 1,000 crore but remains unfinished. Other projects like Bheema (Rs 300 crore), Nettempadu (Rs 200 crore), and Seetarama (Rs 6,000 crore) were also ignored.”

Revanth Reddy condemned the BRS government for allegedly looting funds and entrapping the state in an Rs 8-lakh-crore debt trap.

Stating that people were aware of the financial status of Chandrashekar Rao and his family members before the BRS came to power, Revanth Reddy wondered how they could have turned richer than the Nizam after coming to power and how the state became bankrupt.

Revanth Reddy asked how Harish Rao got a sprawling farmhouse at Moinabad, K.T. Rama Rao got his own farmhouse at Janawada and Chandrashekar Rao at Gajwel.

On the contentious Godavari-Banakacharla river linking project by Andhra Pradesh, Revanth Reddy vowed to oppose it and blamed the BRS regime for laying the foundation of the project and accused Chandrashekar Rao of supporting the water diversion to Rayalaseema in Andhra Pradesh.

The Chief Minister also challenged Chandrashekar Rao to disclose employment figures during his decade-long rule, and asserted that the Congress government had created 60,000 government jobs in 18 months. “The Congress government spent Rs 1,04,000 crore on farmer welfare in just 18 months. He emphasised the Congress commitment to transforming agriculture into a celebrated practice and empowering one crore women as crorepatis.”

He accused the BRS government of ruining Telangana’s finances and restricting farmers’ benefits, contrasting it with his administration’s support for paddy cultivation and bonuses.

Revanth Reddy charged that the BRS government sold out the lands at Outer Ring Road and Kokapet in the name of farmers' welfare and Rythu Bharosa. The BRS government had ruined the state finances like a cancer and handed over a bankrupt state. The Congress steadfastly restricted the loot of brokers and gave Rs 500 additional bonus for cultivating fine quality paddy. The state stood at the forefront in the country with 2 crore 80 lakh metric tonnes of paddy.

Farmers, along with Congress leaders, celebrated the successful implementation of the Rythu Bharosa at Rythu Vedikas all over the state. The venues are decorated with mango leaf thoranam and beautiful rangolis in front yards. The farmers gave bathed flex banners of Revanth Reddy in milk, thanking him for the timely deposit of money. The Congress leaders said that it was a memorable day for providing Rythu Bharosa despite several odds. It was only possible due to good governance, they said.

The grand celebrations took place under the farmer’s commission member Gadugu Gangadhar in Gundaram village in Nizamabad. The district collectors in Nirmal, Adilabad and Komaram Bheem Asifabad districts presented the details of assistance given to farmers.

With inputs from Puli Sharath Kumar, Pillalamarri Srinivas and Narender Pulloor