Revanth: KCR, Harish Inked Telangana's Death Warrant
Revanth Reddy said that of the 1,486 TMC of water in the Godavari basin, 968 TMC were allocated to Telangana and 518 TMC to Andhra.
Hyderabad:Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday charged former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, and former irrigation minister T. Harish Rao with “signing the death warrant” for Telangana by agreeing to allow unchecked use of Godavari river water by Andhra Pradesh, adding that the BJP, led by efforts of Union minister G. Kishan Reddy, was doing its best to undermine Telangana’s interests on this front.
Addressing a meeting of MLAs, MLCs and others at Praja Bhavan following a PowerPoint presentation on AP’s proposed Godavari-Banakacharla link project by irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, the Chief Minister said, “It was KCR who permitted AP to use Godavari water without specific allocations. And it was at a meeting on June 18, 2015, Chandrashekar Rao and Harish Rao signed the ‘death warrant’ for Telangana and inked the water allocation with their AP counterparts.”
Revanth Reddy said that of the 1,486 TMC of water in the Godavari basin, 968 TMC were allocated to Telangana and 518 TMC to Andhra. “But AP Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu took advantage of KCR’s statement of availability of 3,000 TMC ft of flood waters and began constructing projects without any finalisation of allocation of water between the two states.
This is where the trouble began. Later, when Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy succeeded Naidu, Chandrashekar Rao made a presentation in Praja Bhavan to Jagan Mohan Reddy and allowed AP to go ahead with plans to lift Godavari water. These two former CMs helped each other and in the process deprived Telangana of its share of water in Godavari,” Revanth Reddy said.
“Faced with the prospect of political extinction, Chandrashekar Rao and Harish Rao are peddling lies on water issues only for their survival. Uttam Kumar Reddy and I are fighting to protect the rights of people of Telangana. And if Harish Rao wants to debate on river water issues, then he should write to the Assembly Speaker requesting a special two day session, one day for discussing Krishna and another for Godavari water related issues,” Revanth Reddy said.
Revanth Reddy said no new projects can be taken up unless Telangana’s share of flood water is finalised only after the completion of the pending projects in the state. The two Telugu states should hold talks to arrive at a conclusion on the share of flood water and surplus water. “Our government is ready to fight a legal battle for Telangana rights,” he said, adding that Chandrababu Naidu should come forward to resolve water sharing disputes amicably.
The Chief Minister who was very critical of Kishan Reddy for not supporting the state government in resolving the issues pending before the Union government, questioned Kishan Reddy’s reluctance to take responsibility on this issue. “The BRS wants to keep alive the Banakacharla controversy and gain political benefits. I am levelling this charge officially. Kishan Reddy is reading the scripts sent to him from Chandrashekar Rao’s office on AP’s Banakacharla project. The BJP is desperately trying to revive a dead BRS and Kishan Reddy is playing a key role in these efforts. We suspect Kishan Reddy's sincerity and it is for him to clear these suspicions. The people of Telangana elected 8 BJP MPs but none of them is interested in safeguarding the state's interests,” Revanth Reddy said.
The Chief Minister also appealed to the newly elected BJP state unit president N. Ramachander Rao to come forward and take up the Godavari water dispute as his first priority. “I urge him to take the issue and Telangana’s stand to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Our ministers and officials are ready to furnish any information required to Ramchander Rao on this issue,” he said.
Revanth Reddy also raised the issue of repeated objections by Andhra Pradesh to Telangana constructing projects in the Krishna river basin. He also said Telangana’s ability to use Krishna river waters was stymied by Chandrashekar Rao not taking any steps to complete various pending projects including Kalwakurthy, Palamuru, SLBC, Bima, and Nettempadu.
