Telangana asks Centre to drop Godavari-Banakacherla project from water talks; AP wants inclusion

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has asked the Centre to drop Andhra Pradesh’s proposed Godavari-Banakacherla project from the agenda of the crucial chief ministers’ meeting on river water disputes in Delhi on Wednesday.

It also argued that the project has no approvals, and discussing it would violate existing laws.

Letter to Centre seeks agenda revision

In a letter to the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti, Telangana chief secretary urged that any discussion on the Godavari-Banakacherla Link Project should be deferred until all statutory clearances, interstate consultations and legal requirements are met.

“The agenda for the meeting should be revised to defer any discussion on the Godavari-Banakacherla Link Project until all statutory requirements, interstate consultations and clearances are fully complied with and all objections resolved,” the letter stated.

CMs’ meeting on inter-state water disputes

The Centre has convened the meeting to address inter-state river water disputes, inviting chief minister A Revanth Reddy and Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu, in the presence of Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

AP wants Godavari-Banakacherla as key agenda

However, the Andhra Pradesh government has reportedly proposed Godavari-Banakacherla as the single-point agenda for the talks. The project aims to divert flood waters from the Godavari River to Banakacherla to meet irrigation needs in AP.

However, Telangana has raised strong objections, stating that the project lacks approvals and threatens its rightful share in Godavari waters.

Telangana seeks clearance for its projects

Instead, Telangana has requested that the meeting focus on approvals for its pending irrigation projects in the Krishna and Godavari basins. Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy wrote to Union minister Shekhawat on Monday, seeking urgent intervention to resolve long-pending issues.

He demanded approvals for the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme and the Dindi Lift Irrigation Scheme to address water scarcity in Telangana’s drought-hit regions.

Demand for Inchampally project funding

Telangana has also sought discussion on the Godavari (Inchampally)-Cauvery link project as part of the national perspective plan.

Further, it urged the Centre to permit the use of 200 TMC of flood waters at Inchampally for drinking and irrigation needs and to fund Inchampally on par with Andhra Pradesh’s Polavaram project.