Hyderabad: The Congress government will not compromise on Telangana water rights in the Godavari and Krishna rivers, Irrigation Minister Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said on Tuesday. He alleged the previous BRS regime had mortgaged Telangana’s water share to Andhra Pradesh by failing to block key projects like the Polavaram–Banakacherla Link Project.
Presenting a detailed PowerPoint at Dr. Jyotirao Phule Praja Bhavan, Uttam Kumar Reddy described how the Polavaram–Banakacherla scheme emerged after Andhra Pradesh issued a series of administrative orders in 2018 and 2019 to divert floodwaters from the Godavari into the Krishna and Pennar basins. He said these diversions, totaling 300 TMC, directly violate the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal Award of 1980 and undermine Telangana’s terminal riparian claims.
Uttam Kumar Reddy outlined how Andhra Pradesh moved swiftly with G.O.s in 2018 to hire WAPCOS, approve Phase 1 works worth over ₹6,000 crore, and float tenders. Later, Andhra Pradesh included the project under its drought mitigation plans for Rayalaseema, expanding the scope to push Godavari waters into the Pennar basin via the Nagarjuna Sagar Right Canal.
He said former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao never protested these moves and took a passive approach during Apex Council and inter-state review meetings. “They sat together, promised to cooperate, but never enforced Telangana’s share,” he said. Uttam Kumar Reddy argued that this silence emboldened Andhra Pradesh to treat the project as fait accompli.
He accused the BRS leadership of creating conditions that allowed Andhra Pradesh to establish “first-use” infrastructure, placing Telangana at a disadvantage in future water disputes. Under Sections 84 and 85 of the AP Reorganisation Act, any interstate project requires Apex Council clearance, but no effective objections were raised, he said.
Since Congress took office, Uttam Kumar Reddy said, it had pursued legal and administrative measures. Letters went to the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti, the Godavari River Management Board, and the Polavaram Project Authority objecting to Andhra Pradesh’s plans. Telangana highlighted that the Polavaram–Banakacherla project would change backwater levels, submerge low-lying areas near Bhadrachalam, and threaten the Manuguru Heavy Water Plant.
The Minister cited technical risks of backwater stagnation, local flooding, and damage to village drainage systems within Telangana. He argued that any large-scale diversion from Polavaram would need fresh environmental clearance under EIA rules because the project’s original scope, cleared in 2005, did not include these expansions.
He confirmed that after sustained objections, the Expert Appraisal Committee of the Union Environment Ministry on June 30 sent back Andhra Pradesh’s proposal without even issuing Terms of Reference, blocking its environment clearance for now. “Once ToR is issued, they would have claimed a green signal. We stopped it,” he told the audience.
Uttam Kumar Reddy also referred to Telangana’s legal position on Krishna river allocations, saying that Congress had challenged the 2015 distribution signed by K. Chandrashekhar Rao, which assigned only 299 TMC to Telangana out of 811 TMC. The Congress government is demanding a 70% share based on catchment, drought conditions, and population, he said, adding that the matter was raised before the Tribunal and at political levels with senior central leaders.
He reiterated that irrigation would remain top priority. The government aimed to complete the Sitarama Project in Khammam and fully utilise Telangana’s Godavari allocations.
Uttam Kumar Reddy stressed that if Andhra Pradesh succeeded in building the Polavaram–Banakacherla Link Project, Telangana would lose negotiating power over both assured and surplus waters. He warned the diversion would undermine new irrigation and drinking water schemes and submerge thousands of hectares.
He closed by stating Congress would pursue every legal, constitutional, and political channel to defend Telangana water rights.