‘Never opposed Godavari utilisation’: CM Naidu seeks unity on river water sharing

Amaravati: Responding to water disputes between the Telugu states, Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu stated that he never objected to the utilisation of Godavari waters.

He stated that even after bifurcation, when projects like Kaleshwaram were constructed, no issues were raised for building additional projects on the Godavari.

‘3,000 TMC of water from Godavari went waste into sea’

Speaking at the 3rd World Telugu Conference held in Guntur, CM Naidu said huge quantities of Godavari and Krishna river waters are going to waste into the sea every year.

“For the past 40 years, nearly 3,000 TMC of water has been flowing from the Godavari into the sea. Last year alone, thousands of TMCs from the Godavari and Krishna rivers went waste into the sea,” he noted.

He said that river interlinking projects like Polavaram and Krishna-Godavari linkage would address India’s long-standing water problems.

He said it was always believed that irrespective of the number of projects built on the Godavari, sufficient water would be available.

‘Unity of both states crucial for progress of Telugu community’

He appealed for cooperation between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and said unity among Telugu people is essential for the progress of the Telugu language and community.

CM Naidu reaffirmed that the Polavaram project will be completed and said efforts would be made to link the Krishna and Godavari rivers. Emphasising a broader vision, he said rivers like the Ganga and Kaveri should be connected so that the water scarcity problem across the country is resolved.

His statement comes days after Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy claimed that at his request, the NDA government halted the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project.

‘Rayalaseema project taken up without permissions under Jagan’

According to the AP government, during former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s tenure, the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project was taken up without obtaining the required permissions, accompanied by publicity claiming that Rayalaseema would receive 3 TMC of water per day.

The Telangana government filed cases against the project, following which complaints were lodged by the Centre and the National Green Tribunal (NGT). After examining Telangana’s objections, the NGT and the Centre issued orders in 2020 directing that the works be stopped due to the lack of statutory clearances.

The Centre halted the project well before the coalition government assumed power in 2024, the AP government said.

What did Revanth Reddy say?

The clarification came in response to remarks made by Telangana CM Revanth during a short-duration discussion on Krishna River waters in the Telangana Assembly on Saturday. He stated that he brought pressure on CM Naidu and the Union government to stop the Rayalaseema project, calling it a reflection of his sincerity.

Revanth also claimed that he told CM Naidu that he would be ready to discuss any inter-state issue only if Andhra Pradesh stopped the Rayalaseema project, which was taking away 3 TMC of water every day.

He also offered to send a fact-finding committee comprising leaders of all parties, including opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), to verify if the project has stopped or not.

Revanth Reddy further said he had worked under CM Naidu’s leadership in the past but later left that party and leadership. He asserted that Telangana’s interests came first for him, even before the party.

He added that his goal was to make Telangana prosperous and that his government was open to considering suggestions, including those from the opposition, which was why a meeting had been arranged at the demand.