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The Hindu
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Godavari-Banakacherla project may compromise Andhra Pradesh's rights over Krishna waters, fears thinkers' forum
A thinkers' forum, Alochanaparula Vedika, has urged Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to initiate steps to safeguard the State's water rights over the rivers Krishna and Godavari. It has also voiced its objection to the proposed Godavari–Banakacherla scheme, citing the potential risk to Rayalaseema's access to Krishna waters. In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister on Friday, the vedika members, A.B. Venkateswara Rao, T. Lakshminarayana, Kambhampati Papa Rao, and Akkineni Bhavani Prasad, criticised the government for not conducting inclusive consultations on key inter-basin transfer projects, such as the Polavaram–Banakacherla. 'No transparency' 'The government is functioning without transparency, and is not engaging with the opposition parties, civil society, domain experts, or researchers,' they alleged. They also rejected Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy's demand for allocation of 500 tmc ft of Krishna waters and 1,000 tmc ft of Godavari waters to Telangana. Citing legal precedents, the vedika members reminded that the Bachawat Tribunal (1973) and the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal (2013) had already allocated 512.04 tmc ft to Andhra Pradesh and 298.96 tmc ft to Telangana — a settlement accepted by both the States during the first Apex Council meeting, attended by Mr. Naidu and then Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao. 'Dangerous precedent' The vedika also expressed concern over Telangana's recent arguments before the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal, which attempt to invalidate historic allocations to projects such as the Srisailam Right Branch Canal, KC Canal, and the Krishna Delta. 'This can set a dangerous precedent that may benefit the upper riparian States such as Karnataka and Maharashtra at Andhra Preadesh's expense,' they cautioned. On the Godavari–Banakacherla project, the vedika members alleged political motives behind its conception, linking it to past deals involving former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and Mr. Chandrashekar Rao. The project, they feared, would compromise Andhra Pradesh's Krishna water rights, particularly for the drought-hit Rayalaseema. Instead, they proposed alternatives, including accelerating the Polavaram–Somasila interlink, completing the ongoing Rayalaseema projects, and protecting the constitutional and tribunal-based entitlements. 'Any dilution of Andhra Pradesh's water rights will have long-term consequences,' the vedika members cautioned. It urged the State government to uphold the interests of Andhra Pradesh through a non-compromising and legally sound approach.
New Indian Express
22-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Congress government to rectify injustice meted to Telangana in Krishna water share: Minister Uttam Kumar
SURYAPET: Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Wednesday said the Congress government was determined to secure Telangana's rightful share of Krishna river waters, correcting what he called a 'historic betrayal' by the previous BRS regime. Addressing the media in Chintalapalem mandal, Uttam accused the BRS of surrendering Telangana's rights by accepting a mere 299 tmcft out of the total 811 tmcft water allocation from the Krishna river, leaving 512 tmcft to Andhra Pradesh. 'It wasn't a negotiation; it was a sellout, and in writing,' he said. He said the Congress government has reversed this approach and reopened the case before the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal, demanding a 70:30 share for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, respectively, based on catchment area, cultivable land, drought conditions and population. 'Our goal is to green the drought-hit districts of Mahbubnagar, Nalgonda and Khammam through targeted irrigation,' he said. 'KLIS, a monument of waste' Slamming the BRS's record, Uttam called the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project a 'historic blunder' that cost the state `1 lakh crore while leaving farmers high and dry. 'If the BRS had stuck to the original Pranahita-Chevella project planned by the Congress at Rs 38,000 crore, Telangana could have completed 10 major irrigation projects. Instead, Rs 62,000 crore was sunk into a single failed project with three collapsed barrages,' he said. He accused the previous BRS government of scrapping the efficient and cost-effective blueprint prepared under former chief minister Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy and opting for an inflated project at Medigadda for political optics. 'This wasn't irrigation, it was inflation,' he said, alleging massive corruption and calling Kaleshwaram a 'non-functional project with irreversible financial loss'. Uttam said the Rs 62,000 crore wasted on KLIP could have completed long-pending Krishna basin projects such as Palamuru-Rangareddy, Kalwakurthy, Nettempadu, Bhima, Koilsagar, Dindi, Devadula, Sitarama Sagar and the SLBC tunnel. 'Instead of building a robust irrigation network, BRS built a monument of waste. We could have solved the irrigation crisis permanently,' he said.
New Indian Express
03-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Jal Shakti Minister calls meet with four states to discuss Krishna Tribunal award despite SC case pending
HYDERABAD: Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil convened a meeting of Irrigation Ministers of four states on May 7 to discuss the publication of the award of the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal 2 (Brijesh Kumar Tribunal). 'The Jal Shakti minister will chair a meeting with ministers of water resources of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to discuss on the report-cum-award of Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-2,' a communication received by the state officials from the Jal Shakti Ministry on Thursday said. However, the Irrigation department officials were surprised to receive the letter as the matter was sub judice. AP and Telangana filed a case in the Supreme Court and the case hearings were still in progress. Besides, the Union government gave a fresh terms of reference (ToR) to the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal over reallocation of 811 tmcft allocated to the combined AP by the Bachawat Tribunal. The cross examination before the Tribunal on the fresh ToR issued by the Jal Shakti Ministry was still continuing. 'We are expecting that the Central government may try to resolve the water disputes through consultation process and try to publish the Tribunal award in the gazette,' a senior official of Irrigation department told TNIE.
