Hyderabad: Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy said that if there was anybody to be blamed for the Andhra Pradesh government going ahead with the Polavaram-Banakacherla Link Project (PBLP), it was former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR), and former irrigation minister T Harish Rao.
Addressing the media after holding an all-party meeting of Telangana Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs at Dr BR Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat on Wednesday, June 19, Revanth Reddy disclosed the meeting minutes from the Apex Council’s meeting held in Delhi in September 2016 chaired by former Union Jal Shakti minister Uma Bharti, which was attended by KCR, Harish Rao, the then AP chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu and AP irrigation minister Devineni Uma Maheshwar Rao.
“In that meeting which was attended by KCR and Harish Rao, the former had clearly stated that there was a need for 1,000 TMC water to complete the ongoing and proposed projects on Krishna River, while 3,000 TMC water was going unutilized from Godavari River,” he noted.
KCR’s response was to the agenda point, where Andhra Pradesh government which was then headed by the present chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, had proposed two irrigation projects based on surplus water.
Revanth Reddy also released various video clips of KCR speaking on the floor of the assembly, during press conferences, and during his visit to Andhra Pradesh, where he had said that the water-starved Rayalaseema region needed to see the fruits of irrigation, and that he had no objection to AP building projects to make that happen.
“After KCR proposing to shift 1,000 TMC from the Godavari river to Krishna river in 2016, there was a lull till 2019, when YS Jagan Mohan Reddy became the chief minister of AP. Starting June 28, 2019, KCR held four meetings with Jagan, the minutes of which were disclosed by the then Telangana minister Eatala Rajender and AP minister Rajendranath Reddy. KCR also held a meeting Jagan at Pragathi Bhavan for 2 hours to discuss the prospects of diverting the Godavari water, through Kirshna basin, to Pennar basin,” Revanth Reddy said.
Accusing KCR of laying the foundation for the PBLP at the time, Revanth Reddy said that the same people who allowed AP to build such a project, were now trying to blame it on Congress government, as it is not in their control anymore.
Talking about he questioned why KCR failed to complete the pending irrigation projects like Nettempadu, Koilsagar, Bhima, Kalwakurthy and Palamuru-Rangareddy lift irrigation schemes, while investing heavily on Kaleshwaram Project, which has now become defunct.
“In 2015, it was KCR who agreed before the Apex Council and other official platforms that Telangana was contented with 299 TMC in Krishna waters out of 811 TMC, allowing AP to draw 555 TMC. AP has been drawing 700 TMC every year, while we were unable to fully utilize out allocated share of water, just because you couldn’t complete the pending projects,” Revanth Reddy said.
Accusing the AP government of not following the due process to secure approvals for PBLP, Revanth Reddy cautioned Chandrababu Naidu that if he thought he could by-pass all the procedures and get permissions for the project, he was mistaken.
“Give no objection certificate for all Telangana irrigation projects so that we can utilize our rightful share of assured waters in Godavari and Krishna rivers to irrigate 1.5 crore acres in the state. I assure you we will not object to any of AP’s projects,” Revanth Reddy promised Naidu through the media.
He made it clear to Naidu that increasing the gap between the two states was not a solution to the long-standing issues.
Revanth Reddy questioned the absence of Union coal and mines minister G Kishan Reddy and Union minister of state for home affairs Bandi Sanjay from the meeting of all-party MPs on PBLP on Wednesday.
“Kishan Reddy’s integrity is a big question. He didn’t have time to attend this meeting, but hurriedly left to Delhi to meet Jal Shakti minister CR Patil tonight. What was the hurry? He could have met him tomorrow and explained how PBLP was an injustice to Telangana,” Revanth Reddy exclaimed.
“It is clear that Kishan Reddy is taking orders from KTR. Even 8 MP seats won by BJP in Telangana were given away by KCR as organ donation to BJP,” he quipped.
When questioned by the media, Revanth Reddy said that in the 96 state cabinet meetings held during the BRS government, there was no approval for building Kaleshwaram project at Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla, and the only approval given was for redesigning the project.
He said that the state government will be submitting its comprehensive report on the irregularities perpetrated by the BRS government in Kaleshwaram project to the PC Ghose Commission of inquiry by June 30. As the matter was being probed, he refrained from talking about it any further.
