Harish Says Revanth Insincere on Banakacharla Issue
“The Chief Minister, despite his public claims that make him sound as if he is opposed to AP’s project, is actually helping Andhra Pradesh push forward the illegal Banakacherla project,” Harish Rao said in a statement
Hyderabad: Senior BRS leader and former irrigation minister T. Harish Rao on Tuesday said it was not the BRS that had to answer to the people of Telangana on AP’s Godavari-Banakacharla project, but Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy.
“The Chief Minister, despite his public claims that make him sound as if he is opposed to AP’s project, is actually helping Andhra Pradesh push forward the illegal Banakacherla project,” Harish Rao said in a statement.
“It was the BRS that woke up the Congress from its deep slumber. We fought until the environmental clearance for Banakacherla was denied. Revanth was ready to settle for 1,000 TMC of Godavari water and 500 TMC from Krishna. We had to make him realise Telangana deserves more,” he said.
Harish Rao asked the Chief Minister why the latter was still reluctant to call for an Apex Council meeting on this issue. “What is stopping Revanth Reddy from confronting the Centre or Andhra Pradesh? Or is Revanth Reddy doing what his political guru Chandrababu Naidu wants?” Harish Rao asked.
The fact, he said, was that as per the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal award, the Central Water Commission cannot approve projects without expert appraisal committee clearances. “Revanth Reddy does not even understand that the Apex Council trumps the CWC. When BRS was in power, Banakacherla was not even discussed. But today, under Revanth Reddy’s watch, it’s moving ahead. People understand what is happening behind the scenes,” Harish Rao said.
