Hyderabad: Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Monday accused BRS leader T. Harish Rao of siding with Andhra Pradesh on the proposed Godavari-Banakacherla (GB) diversion and warned that his remarks pose a direct threat to Telangana’s water entitlements.
In a strongly worded reply to Rao’s letter dated June 15, Uttam said the proposal to divert 200 TMC of water from Polavaram to Banakacherla via the Krishna basin violates all legal and technical frameworks.
He said the project is based on unauthorised use of floodwaters and not the assured allocations granted by the Bachawat Tribunal. “Floodwaters are not recognised under Indian water law. Andhra’s project lacks legal and technical standing,” he said.
He called Rao’s suggestion that Telangana could gain 112.5 TMC of Krishna water in return for Andhra’s 200 TMC Godavari diversion “ignorant and damaging.”
Uttam said substitution applies only to assured water, not unquantified floodwaters. Even within the existing 80 TMC Polavaram diversion, he said, Telangana’s rightful 45 TMC below Nagarjuna Sagar is still under KWDT-II consideration.
He reiterated that Andhra Pradesh is proceeding without clearance to expand drawal capacity beyond approved limits.
He also accused the previous BRS government of settling for a lower Krishna share 299 TMC for Telangana despite having 68.5% basin catchment. “You gave away Telangana’s rights at every key meeting,” Uttam said.
He said the Congress government is actively fighting for the rightful 555 TMC and the 45 TMC substitution at KWDT-II.
Calling Rao’s latest stance “pathetic,” Uttam wrote: “You failed once and are now pushing for surrender again. We will not let Andhra Pradesh take a drop illegally.”
