Revanth Reddy: Telangana won’t hand over projects on Krishna to Centre until water share with AP finalised

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has made it clear that the State Government will not handover the projects on Krishna River to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) unless the allocation of water to Telangana is clarified.

Speaking to media persons at Dr BR Ambedkar Telangana Secretariat here on Sunday, Revanth Reddy said that as per the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014, all the projects on Krishna River should be handed over to the KRMB. He questioned the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) chief K Chandrasekhar Rao whether he was consulted by the Centre while drafting the AP Reorganisation Act 2014.

“Why did the BRS (then TRS) not oppose the AP Reorganisation Act then?” questioned Revanth Reddy. He said KCR in Lok Sabha and Keshava Rao in Rajya Sabha should be blamed for drafting the AP Reorganisation Act 2014.

‘KCR government gave consent to handover projects to Centre’

“How can they now demand 50 per cent water share in Krishna River? In the 16th KRMB meeting held on July 25, 2022, the then KCR Government gave its consent to hand over all the projects on Krishna River to the Centre,” he added.

The chief minister said that in the 17th KRMB meeting held in 2023, the KCR Government did not even raise any opposition and took a decision to hand over the projects on Krishna River to the Centre.

The entire procedure was done under the guidance of KCR and then minister for Irrigation T Harish Rao, he said. “How can the BRS leaders blame the Congress for handing over the projects on River Krishna and Godavari to the Centre as per the AP Reorganisation Act 2014? The Centre has constituted a committee to share 811 TMCs of Krishna water between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Of which, 512 TMCs of water for Andhra Pradesh and 299 TMCs for Telangana was proposed,” he said.

‘Telangana receiving less water than Andhra’

Revanth Reddy said that around 68 per cent of the Krishna River flows in Telangana. Over 500 TMCs of Krishna River water are required for Telangana. The remaining 32 per cent is for Andhra Pradesh. However, Telangana got only 299 TMCs while Andhra Pradesh received 512 TMCs. Since 2015, every year, the agreement was renewed till 2019. The KCR Government gave its consent and agreed to hand over the projects on Krishna River to the Centre in 2022. In March 2023, the budget was in demand for grants, the KCR Government even mentioned Rs 200 crore each to be allocated for maintenance of KRMB and Godavari River Management Board (GRMB), he said.

“How can the BRS Government allocate Rs 400 crore for the maintenance of Krishna River and Godavari River projects to the Centre after handing over its maintenance to the Centre,” he said. He also alleged that former chief minister of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh YS Rajasekhar Reddy had decided to supply 44,000 cusecs of water from 11,000 cusecs from Pothireddypadu Head Regulatory System (PHRS).

“It was the Congress leaders P Janardhan Reddy (PJR) and Marri Shashidhar Reddy who strongly opposed the YSR’s decision. However, KCR and Harish Rao supported YSR for their political gains,” he said.

‘Jagan tried to increase inflows to 80,000 cusecs’

Revanth Reddy further said that after the bifurcation of the state, Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy came to power, he even tried to increase the supply from 44,000 cusecs to 80,000 cusecs from PHRS. On January 14, 2020, Jagan met KCR at Pragathi Bhavan and reviewed almost for six hours to release a GO No 203 to take up the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project (RLIP). The duo discussed Krishna River and decided to divert 8 TMCs daily to Andhra Pradesh from Telangana. GO No 203 was issued by the Andhra Pradesh Government on May 5, 2022, he said.

The chief minister said that earlier former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu had constructed the Muchumarri project and tried to divert water at 800 feet. At that time too, KCR supported the Andhra Pradesh Government for his benefit. He alleged that KCR had entered a secret pact with Jagan and didn’t raise any objections on RLIP to draw 8 TMCs of water from Krishna River to AP. Around 12 TMCs per day from Pothireddypadu, Muchumarri and RLIP were diverted to Andhra Pradesh from Telangana to make it a deserted place, he said.

‘KCR surrendered himself to YSR, CBN and Jagan for commissions’

The chief minister said that earlier, Telangana had high-handedness on all the projects on the Krishna River. After KCR came to power, he surrendered himself to YSR, CBN and Jagan for commissions and made Telangana a deserted area through Pothireddypadu, Muchumarri and RLIP. If the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project was completed on time by the KCR Government, around 3.5 lakh acres in the Nalgonda district would be given water. The Congress Government is committed to completing the project, he said

“Why didn’t former chief minister KCR question Jagan when the police were deployed at Nagarjuna Sagar on the polling day? No question was raised as to why the projects were handed over to the KRMB. I am challenging Jagan now to step in and occupy the Nagarjuna Sagar dam. We are ready to conduct discussions on projects. I am inviting KCR, KT Rama Rao, Harish Rao and MLC Kavitha Kalvakuntla to join the discussions to disclose the actual facts to the people of Telangana,” said Revanth Reddy.

Revanth challenges KCR to open debate

The chief minister said that every day Andhra Pradesh is diverting 12 TMCs of water per day.

“KCR has utterly failed in preventing Jagan and CBN while they are taking up projects to divert Krishna River water from Telangana to Andhra Pradesh. “I am challenging KCR to participate in a debate on white paper on projects during the upcoming Assembly elections,” stated Revanth Reddy.

The chief minister pointed out that the KCR Government had not even completed the Kalwakurthy project during its 10-year rule in the state. “If Palamuru Ranga Reddy Lift Irrigation is completed on time 10 lakh acres would get water. However, due to an inordinate delay by the KCR Government, Jagan filed cases in the court and stalled the project works. The Telangana Government gave clarity to the Jal Shakti minister that projects on the Krishna River will be handed over only if they get clarity on the water share to Telangana. KCR is making baseless allegations against the Congress Government,” he said.