
Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Siddipet MLA Harish Rao on Monday, January 27 wrote a letter to Union minister of Tourism and BJP state president Kishan Reddy urging immediate intervention to protect Telangana’s irrigation interests amidst concerns over the Andhra Pradesh government’s Godavari-Banakacharla project.
The project which seeks to divert 200 TMC of Godavari water to the Penna Basin is seen as a threat to Telangana’s water rights.
Harish Rao pointed out that Andhra Pradesh violated the AP Reorganization Act by proceeding with the project without the necessary approvals from the Godavari-Krishna Boards as mandated by the Act.
He also raised alarm over the ongoing efforts by Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu to secure funding for the project including letters to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The BRS leader expressed frustration over the six-month delay in obtaining technical advisory committee approval for Telangana’s Seethamma Sagar project which had received all other necessary approvals.
He also highlighted the pending No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Chhattisgarh for the Sammakka Sagar project, calling for the Union government’s intervention to expedite the process.
Further, Harish Rao criticized the Central government’s delay in granting environmental clearance for the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme despite the project’s importance to the region’s water needs.
The lack of progress on Telangana’s detailed project reports (DPRs) for major irrigation projects was also raised as a key issue, with the Congress government’s failure to secure approvals leading to significant delays.
Harish Rao appealed to Kishan Reddy urging him to leverage his position to secure approval and cooperation from the central government to safeguard Telangana’s irrigation projects and water rights.
Earlier in the day, Harish Rao reminded the state government of the delayed implementation of the loan waiver for farmers in Telangana.
In a jibe at Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy, the senior BRS leader said the loan waiver for farmers was promised on December 9 2023 and then extended twice, one to August 15 2024 and then to Dasara is still hanging in the balance.
“Even now the Congress government claims it would provide loan waiver of Rs 20 lakh for farmers in Telangana. The chief minister had promised farmers that they would get Rs 15,000 under the Rythu Bharosa scheme after the Congress came to power,” Harish Rao remarked.