Hyderabad, Oct. 17: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) senior leader and former minister T. Harish Rao on Saturday alleged that Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu were conspiring to divert Godavari River waters to Andhra Pradesh by denying Telangana its rightful share.
Speaking to the media, Harish Rao said a major conspiracy is being hatched against the state through the Godavari–Cauvery river linking project from Polavaram in Andhra Pradesh instead of Ichampalli in Telangana.
Rao alleged that they formed an alliance to illegally divert 200 TMC of Godavari waters from Telangana's share to Andhra Pradesh by including the Godavari-Cauvery linking project in the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) agenda, which scheduled a meeting in New Delhi on November 3.
“Chandrababu Naidu initially planned to divert Godavari water through the Polavaram–Banakacherla link project but faced regulatory objections. Then, under the new name Polavaram–Nallamala Sagar link project, Naidu convinced the Central government to facilitate the project under the guise of the Godavari–Cauvery river linking project, which will be a death warrant for Telangana’s water rights,” he said.
Rao alleged that after the Congress government came to power in Telangana, Chandrababu Naidu has been trying to divert Godavari waters while Revanth Reddy is acting as a covert agent and undermining Telangana's water rights.
“Chandrababu Naidu has been coming up with new strategies to divert Godavari waters. While the Telangana government remains in deep slumber, the BRS is defeating these attempts,” Rao said.
Harish Rao claimed that the original proposal to link the Godavari and Cauvery rivers through Ichampalli and Nagarjuna Sagar would have benefited Telangana by providing irrigation water to 2,38,236 acres in the erstwhile Warangal, Nalgonda and Ranga Reddy districts.
However, he alleged that the revised proposal would bypass Telangana's interests and deprive the state of its water rights.
Referring to the original NWDA proposal, Harish Rao said the project was designed to utilise 148 TMC of unutilised water from Chhattisgarh, of which Telangana was proposed to receive 43 TMC, Andhra Pradesh 44 TMC, Tamil Nadu 42.5 TMC, Karnataka 16 TMC and Puducherry 2.5 TMC.
He questioned how Andhra Pradesh could seek to divert the water without first determining Telangana's rightful share.
Harish Rao also accused Revanth Reddy of failing to operate lift irrigation projects despite water availability in the Godavari and Krishna rivers.
Harish Rao also questioned the silence of Union Ministers G. Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay over the proposed changes to the Godavari–Cauvery river linking project.
He demanded that the Centre withdraw the revised proposal and protect Telangana's water rights, warning that the BRS would launch an agitation if the state's interests were compromised.