Hyderabad: Telangana irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said that he, along with Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy, would be meeting the Union Jal Shakti minister CR Patil once again in New Delhi on Thursday, 19 June, to convey the Telangana government’s strong objection to the Andhra Pradesh government’s plans to construct the Polavaram-Banakacherla Link Project (PBLP).
He said that the state government had called for a special emergency meeting of the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) to set aside the proposal of PBLP, which had been sent to it by the Jal Shakti Ministry for examination and for furnishing its views on the proposal.
On Wednesday, 18 June, an all-party meeting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs from Telangana was held at Dr BR Ambedkar Telangana State Secretariat. It was attended by MPs from all political parties in Telangana.
Senior officials of the irrigation department gave an extensive presentation on the Godavari basin, the projects constructed by various states on the Godavari River, and what was presented by the AP government to the Central Water Commission (CWC) in its pre-feasibility report on PBLP.
Uttam Kumar Reddy presented the various steps being taken by the state government to stall PBLP and explained the various concerns of Telangana, in addition to the violations committed by the AP government in moving ahead with the project.
Irrigation officials explained that PBLP was being designed by AP, with the Polavaram Project as its main source, to lift 3 TMC of Godavari water per day through a canal that would run parallel to the Polavaram Right Main Canal. The water would be delivered to the Krishna River upstream of the Prakasam Barrage.
Then, through six lifts, water from the Krishna would be delivered to Bollepalli Reservoir, with a capacity of storing 175 TMC and a carryover of 25 TMC. From Bollepalli Reservoir, water would again be delivered to the Banakacherla regulator in the Rayalaseema region using three more lifts.
The total new ayacut under the project is 7.41 lakh acres, and 22.59 lakh acres are expected to be stabilised. The cost of the project has been estimated at Rs 81,900 crore.
Officials stated that although the project was envisaged to utilise 200 TMC of floodwaters (expecting flood flow for 100 days during the monsoons), irrigation infrastructure was being created to utilise 300 TMC.
They said that the project also aims to deliver 1 TMC from the Bollapalli Reservoir to the Somasila Dam. In the pre-feasibility report, the AP government also submitted that Segment 2 of the project (Krishna River to Bollepalli Reservoir) was being constructed under Phase 2 of the Nagarjuna Sagar Project (NSP), which has not yet been completed.
Telangana’s concerns
The Telangana government believes that, as per the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) award of 1980, all co-basin states, including Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha, have rights over floodwaters, and AP cannot claim floodwaters unilaterally, which would be a violation of that award.
As the irrigation needs of Telangana, a newly formed state, are yet to be realised, the proposal of PBLP before that happens amounts to an infringement of the water rights of Telangana.
Of the assured water of 1,486 TMC from the Godavari, Telangana’s share is 968 TMC and AP’s is 518 TMC. Another concern is that AP may attempt to establish a de facto right over surplus waters by advancing prior utilisation, halting Telangana’s projects by filing complaints, and jeopardising Telangana’s future prospects over both assured and surplus waters by creating PBLP infrastructure and claiming riparian rights over these waters in any future tribunal.
Uttam Kumar Reddy stated that the diversion of surplus waters by AP would severely restrict Telangana’s ability to plan and execute future irrigation and drinking water schemes. He also stated that the contention of the state government is that the lower riparian right belongs to Telangana as well, because undivided AP was considered a terminal state.
Violations by Andhra Pradesh
Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged that AP has violated Section 85(8)(d) of the AP Reorganisation Act of 2014, as PBLP negatively impacts the availability of water to the co-terminus state as allocated in the GWDT.
He also accused AP of violating Section 90 of the Act, as PBLP alters the operation schedule and parameters of the Polavaram Project on which it is based, affecting the interests of Telangana, the co-terminus state.
He stated that PBLP also violates the operational guidelines of the Polavaram Project, which could lead to submergence and extensive flooding in Telangana due to the backwater effect.
He reminded that in 2011, the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change had issued a ‘stop work order’, raising concerns over the Polavaram Project’s environmental impact and a lack of fresh Environmental Clearance (EC) for changes to the original project.
He also cited the Supreme Court’s order dated 6 September 2022, calling for the issues of environmental clearances to be addressed by calling a meeting of all stakeholders.
Steps taken by Telangana government
Uttam Kumar Reddy said that ever since the AP government initiated PBLP, Telangana has acted promptly to safeguard its rights.
He said the state government had initiated correspondence with the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) and the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) on the violations of sections of the AP Reorganisation Act of 2014.
He said that letters were addressed to Union Jal Shakti minister CR Patil, and that he, along with the Chief Minister, had met the former and handed a representation to him, requesting that PBLP not be considered.
On 4 January 2025, the Telangana government wrote to GRMB objecting to AP’s proposal. On 22 January 2025, Uttam Kumar Reddy also wrote to CR Patil, urging him not to allocate any financial assistance to AP for the project.
On 24 January 2025, the principal secretary of irrigation and command area development wrote to the CWC and GRMB, requesting them to restrain AP from going ahead with the project.
On 3 March 2025, the Telangana Chief Minister wrote to the Union Jal Shakti Ministry, asking it to direct the CWC, GRMB and the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) not to approve the project.
During a meeting with the chairman of GRMB at Jal Soudha in Hyderabad on 14 May 2025, the chief minister asserted that the project proposal of PBLP infringes upon the rights of Telangana. The chairman stated during that meeting that GRMB would consider Telangana’s views after receiving the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of PBLP.
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