Uttam Rejects Harish's Charges, Says Telangana Water Rights Safe With Cong Govt
“Neither the project’s DPR, or even its pre-feasibility report, have been okayed, and it was on our complaint that the terms of reference for environmental clearances were cancelled": Irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy
HYDERABAD: Irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Friday rejected charges levelled by BRS leader T. Harish Rao that the Revanth Reddy government was facilitating the AP government going ahead with its irrigation projects that would harm Telangana’s interests, particularly the Polavaram-Nallamalasagar project.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said there was no truth in Harish Rao’s claims earlier in the day that the Centre was allowing AP to go ahead with the project. “Neither the project’s DPR, or even its pre-feasibility report, have been okayed, and it was on our complaint that the terms of reference for environmental clearances were cancelled. At today’s meeting, the Central Water Commission chairman made it clear that no approvals of any kind were given to AP on the project,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said during a press conference.
He said Harish Rao was wrong in stating that Telangana had attended the meeting without any assurances. “Yesterday (Thursday), jal shakti minister C.R. Patil wrote to us that no permissions were given. Harish Rao should stop spreading falsehoods and repeating lies, and end the propaganda. The Congress government will not allow a single drop of water that should come to Telangana to go to any other state,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said.
He also said the Congress government was taking steps on every forum, whether in the courts, before the Centre, or the CWC to stop AP from taking up the project. “Along with Revanth Reddy, I met Patil twice, we gave our objections in writing and also filed a civil suit in the Supreme Court on the matter. In fact, it is the BRS government and its chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao who promised to take Godavari water to Rayalaseema while our government is working hard to correct the past mistakes of the BRS government,” he said.
Meanwhile, principal secretary irrigation Rahul Bojja told reporters in Delhi after the CWC meeting that it was about setting the agenda for the meetings that will follow. “The meeting was restricted to sharing of Krishna and Godavari waters, and the Polavaram-Nallamalasagar issue did not come up at the meeting. We put forward 12 issues for discussion and AP said it will submit its list of issues later. Once this is done, the CWC will fix the agendas for the meetings that will follow,” he said.