No Trouble To Upper Riparian States Due To Polavaram-Banakacherla Project, Says Ramanaidu
Ramanaidu further said the project will use only the flood waters available at Polavaram.
Vijayawada: Water Resources Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu has ruled out any trouble to the upper riparian states due to the Polavaram-Banakacherla project that aims to divert 200 tmc-ft of Godavari water to the drought-hit Rayalaseema region.
Speaking to the media here on Tuesday, the minister said the criticism against the project was political in nature rather than technical. He wondered how former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao changed his stand on diversion of Godavari water to Rayalaseema region after he got the “opposition” status.
Rao had supported the plan while was the chief minister of Telangana, he said.
Ramanaidu explained the details of the project by saying it would be taken up in three segments. The first one is from Polavaram to the Prakasam barrage; the second from the barrage to the Bollapalli reservoir with a 173 tmc-ft capacity by lifting water through six lifts; and the third from the Bollapalli reservoir to Banacherla with the help of three lifts and two tunnels.
He said a preliminary report of the project was submitted to the central water commission on May 22, 2025. After getting its nod, a detailed project report would be submitted.
The proposals have been sent to the central environment ministry for its approval of the terms of reference.
Reiterating his stand that the project would not affect the interests of upper riparian states, the minister said AP was having the natural right to utilise the floodwaters. As nearly 3,000 tmc-ft of water was going waste into the sea every year from Godavari river, the idea arose to avail the floodwater at Polavaram and divert such water at the rate of 2 tmc-ft per day to the Banakacherla project.
He said as AP was the tail-end state, it would in no way be a hurdle for the upper riparian states to avail their allotted quantum of water.
The minister underscored the importance of providing the Godavari floodwater to the Rayalaseema region as it stood in the second position in the country vis-a-vis getting less rainfall.
He recalled how the Godavari water was sent to Anantapur from Vijayawada in railway tankers when Rayalaseema witnessed a severe drought in 2015.
The irrigation minister responded to the criticism that the Polavaram-Banacherla project was being taken up without obtaining permission from the Godavari and Krishna river management boards and also from the apex council in violation of central norms. He asked why such norms were not applicable to projects being taken up in Telangana.
Had KCR not taken up projects without obtaining permission from these boards? Had he not built projects like Kaleswaram, Seetaramssagar, Palamuru-Rangareddy, Sammakka Barrage etc without obtaining such permission, he asked.
He praised chief minister Chandrababu Naidu for taking up projects like the Devadula lift scheme when he was the CM in the undivided AP and for extending support to Telangana to complete its projects, after the bifurcation.
The minister advocated interlinking of rivers to help fight drought in the country. From the father of irrigation KL Rao to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, there have been efforts to take up interlinking of rivers. “Drawing inspiration from them, the AP government is trying to divert Godavari floodwaters to the Rayalaseema region by taking up such a project,” he said.
