Hyderabad: BRS working president and Telangana minister KT Rama Rao wrote an open letter to the BJP-led Centre over the issue of the Environment Assessment Committee (EAC) deferring the environmental clearance (EC) for the Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS).
In the letter, KTR remarked that the centre is behaving with ‘intense discrimination’ against Telangana.
KTR said the Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme was a ‘ray of hope’ for the drought-prone areas of Nagarkurnool, Mahabubnagar, Vikarabad, Narayanpet, Rangareddy and Nalgonda districts.
“This project has the potential to transform lives and reduce the struggles caused by water scarcity. Erstwhile Mahabubnagar, Rangareddy and Nalgonda districts have struggled with drought and water scarcity. Nalgonda faced fluoride issues while Mahabubnagar experienced migration due to a lack of irrigation facilities. After state formation, the state government has undertaken many irrigation projects to address challenges of water scarcity and agricultural development. The PRLIS is one of the significant irrigation projects of Telangana,” he said.
He further stated that despite providing no funds to the project, the BJP led centre is ‘creating obstacles’.
The scheme sought to provide water for about 12.5 lakh acres as well as to meet the drinking water demands of various villages, Hyderabad city, and industries.
“They create obstacles in granting permissions and refuse to grant national status to our projects. Meanwhile, projects in other states receive funding, permissions and national status. How fair is it that the union government has refused to grant national status to the PRLIS while readily granting national status to the Upper Bhadra irrigation project in Karnataka?” he asked.
The Minister further stated that the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II was yet to issue a ruling on water distribution among the four riparian states. “The Centre has also taken no meaningful measures to address this issue,” he added.
“The way the BJP-led Centre treats Telangana is very disappointing. They ignore our state’s fair requests and do not give us the same opportunities as others. The people of Telangana should have a fair chance to develop and get what they deserve,” he wrote.
