Telangana will approach the Supreme Court to stop the Godavari-Banakacharla link project proposed by neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. The project envisions a system to divert water from the Godavari river to the Krishna basin from Polavaram in Andhra Pradesh.
The decision was announced by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy following a meeting of all-party MPs in Hyderabad. Reddy said the state government would appoint legal experts specialising in water agreements to pursue the legal battle.
“We will take all measures to protect the interests of Telangana. We have also decided to pass a resolution in the state assembly opposing the Godavari-Banakacharla project and send it to the Centre. We will fight this battle unitedly, involving all parties,” the Chief Minister said.
Reddy blamed Andhra Pradesh’s decision to go ahead with the project on the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government, led by K Chandrashekhar Rao.
“In October 2019, KCR and then-Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had held discussions on diverting Godavari waters to the Rayalaseema region in Andhra Pradesh. The foundation for the Godavari-Banakacharla project was laid during that meeting,” he said.
He recalled that KCR had promised to support the diversion of Godavari waters to Rayalaseema.
“During the Apex Council meeting of the Union Jal Shakti Ministry held on 21 September 2016, KCR had stated that 3,000 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of Godavari water was going to waste into the sea every year and that it should be harnessed to provide irrigation to the parched Rayalaseema region,” Revanth Reddy said.
The records of the Apex Council clearly documented the minutes of the meeting. “At the time, ministers from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh told the media that discussions had taken place about diverting Godavari water to Rayalaseema,” the Chief Minister added.
Revanth Reddy emphasised that there would be no compromise when it comes to farmers’ interests, irrespective of political considerations. He said he had held discussions with opposition parties on the way forward regarding the Banakacharla issue.
BRS Rajya Sabha member Vaddiraju Ravichandra, who attended the all-party meeting, objected to Reddy’s statements and clarified that KCR had spoken with Telangana’s interests in mind.
“KCR had only stated there was no objection to diverting Godavari waters to the Krishna river, while ensuring irrigation to the parched lands in Telangana en route,” he said, also alleging that the meeting was held with a politically motivated agenda.
The all-party MPs’ meeting, held at the state secretariat, was attended by state irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy; Congress MPs Renuka Chowdhury, Mallu Ravi, P Balaram Naik, Suresh Shetkar, Kunduru Raghuveer Reddy, Chamal Kiran Kumar Reddy, Anil Kumar Yadav, and Raghuram Reddy; BJP MPs D K Aruna and M Raghunandan Rao; BRS MP Vaddiraju Ravichandra; and AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi.
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