Hyderabad: Former minister Harish Rao accused the Congress party of historical betrayal over Krishna water rights, saying it was the Congress that had originally accepted Telangana’s share at just 299 TMC. He criticised Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy for now speaking on the issue, calling it “like a murderer holding a condolence meeting.”
In a media statement on Wednesday, Rao said the Telangana government has been inconsistent and misleading about water share figures. He claimed the demand for 763 TMC was undercut by the chief minister’s blanket NOC offer of 500 TMC to Andhra Pradesh, allegedly allowing them to build any project in the Krishna basin. Rao noted that in a September 13 irrigation review, the same CM claimed Telangana must secure a 904 TMC share.
He also ridiculed Uttam Kumar Reddy’s figure of 763 TMC, calling it baseless. “Ask them the basics of basins, they won’t know. Ask about water share, they’ll stammer,” Rao said. He warned that such confusion and ignorance could cost Telangana its rightful share of Krishna river waters.
Congress accused of double standards in Krishna water rights Telangana
Rao challenged the Congress to prove that BRS had signed off on the 299 TMC share and offered to resign if proven. Otherwise, he demanded Uttam’s resignation. He alleged that the Congress wrote Telangana’s death warrant on irrigation rights during its UPA tenure, within 42 days of statehood.
He reiterated that Telangana had formally requested the Centre to set up a new tribunal to reallocate water based on river basin geography, following the Congress-led allocation to Andhra Pradesh of 512 TMC and Telangana only 299 TMC.
On Sammakka Sagar, Rao accused Uttam of falsely claiming credit for permissions. He said Uttam was boasting about a minor 50-acre submergence clearance from Chhattisgarh while ignoring that the barrage—with 7 TMC capacity—was fully approved and constructed under the KCR government.
Harish Rao alleges Almatti dam height move threatens Telangana water share
Rao further targeted the Karnataka Congress government for planning to raise the Almatti dam height from 519 to 524 feet. He accused them of conspiring to deprive Telangana of Krishna waters, particularly in the undivided Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda, and Ranga Reddy districts. “Is Revanth Reddy too timid to stop them while they draft our farmers’ death warrant?” he asked.
He also said the CM remained silent when Andhra Pradesh diverted Krishna water through Banakacherla and is now doing the same with Karnataka’s alleged water grab. Rao warned that Revanth Reddy would go down in history as a failure if he does not protect Telangana’s water rights.
