Hyderabad: Former minister and BRS MLA T. Harish Rao on Friday demanded that the Congress-led Telangana government boycott an upcoming inter-state river water meeting in Delhi. He accused Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy of compromising the state’s irrigation interests in favour of Andhra Pradesh.
Addressing reporters at Telangana Bhavan, Rao said the Centre-organised meeting was being held under pressure from Andhra Pradesh. He explained that it aimed at advancing the contentious Nallamala Sagar project. Furthermore, he warned that attending without safeguards could jeopardise Telangana’s share of Godavari water.
Rao criticised the government’s decision to send officials to the meeting, calling it a move that would enable Andhra Pradesh’s irrigation agenda. Moreover, he questioned Telangana’s participation given the absence of any commitments from Andhra Pradesh to halt processing of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for Nallamala Sagar.
Harish Rao boycott Delhi demand targets Nallamala Sagar
Rao alleged that the Revanth Reddy administration was colluding with Andhra Pradesh, citing examples such as the Polavaram and Nallamala Sagar projects. He pointed to Telangana’s weak legal stance. For example, he included a withdrawn Supreme Court writ petition as evidence of insufficient action.
The MLA also objected to the appointment of Adityanath Das, a former Andhra Pradesh bureaucrat, as Government Advisor. He argued that Das’s past opposition to Telangana’s irrigation efforts made his inclusion harmful to the state’s interests.
Contrasting the current administration with the previous BRS government, Rao said the latter had successfully advanced projects on the Godavari River and enhanced irrigation through schemes like Kaleshwaram and Mission Kakatiya. These projects, he noted, had received praise in the 2025-26 Economic Survey. Additionally, he added that no DPR had moved forward in the last two years, with previous submissions returned.
Calling the situation a “historic betrayal,” Rao said Telangana’s water rights must outweigh political considerations. He urged the state to boycott the Delhi meeting unless written guarantees were secured.
He warned that the BRS would launch fresh protests if Telangana’s irrigation interests were endangered.