Hyderabad: Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and former minister and BRS leader T. Harish Rao put out conflicting figures on Krishna water utilisation on Wednesday night, with Harish Rao quoting the Telangana government’s own submission to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to question the Minister’s claims.
The exchange followed an all-party meeting at the Secretariat on Wednesday, October 28, where Opposition parties made allegations about the State’s share of Krishna waters. Uttam Kumar Reddy rejected those allegations in a post on X. Within an hour, Harish Rao responded with figures from what he described as the State government’s official agenda submission for the 21st KRMB meeting.
Krishna water utilisation: Minister says Telangana used 169.478 TMC
In his post, Uttam Kumar Reddy accused the BRS of falsely claiming that Andhra Pradesh was drawing more Krishna water than Telangana from the Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar reservoirs.
Giving figures for irrigation and power generation as of October 28, 2026, the Minister said Telangana had used 127.57 TMC from Srisailam against Andhra Pradesh’s 72.237 TMC. From Nagarjunasagar, he said, Telangana had drawn 41.908 TMC and Andhra Pradesh 17.207 TMC.
That put Telangana’s total from the two reservoirs at 169.478 TMC, compared with 89.444 TMC for Andhra Pradesh, according to the Minister. He said the numbers showed the BRS charge was entirely untrue.
Harish Rao says State’s own KRMB agenda flags diversions by Andhra Pradesh
Harish Rao shared images of the agenda papers for the 21st KRMB meeting on his X handle and said Telangana’s own submission had objected to Andhra Pradesh moving Krishna water outside the river basin.
According to the document he cited, Andhra Pradesh had diverted about 45.791 TMC from Srisailam to areas outside the basin as of September 21, 2026. Telangana, the document said, had used only 10.653 TMC through the Mahatma Gandhi Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigation Scheme (MGKLIS), all of it within the Krishna basin.
For the 2026-27 water year up to September 21, the document put Andhra Pradesh’s utilisation at 84.945 TMC and Telangana’s at 65.118 TMC. This gave a Telangana to Andhra Pradesh ratio of 43.39:56.61, against the 50:50 sharing ratio mentioned in the submission.
The agenda papers also alleged that in the 2025-26 water year, Andhra Pradesh diverted 259 TMC from Srisailam to areas outside the basin, though it was entitled to only 34 TMC for such use (19 TMC under SRBC and 15 TMC under CWSS). Telangana, the document said, diverted 44 TMC in the same period, all within the basin.
Referring to the 30.869 TMC left in Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar, the document alleged that Andhra Pradesh had sought more water for drinking needs outside the basin and secured orders to release 10 TMC for NSRC. It argued that such diversions went against natural justice, international water law, the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-I Award, Central government publications, Apex Council decisions and the National Water Policy. It also cited the second Apex Council meeting, which said water should be transferred to other basins only after the needs within the basin were met.
“Between your public statement and your government’s formal submission to the KRMB, which one is incorrect?” Harish Rao asked the Minister. He said that if the KRMB data was correct, the Minister’s social media statement was misleading, and asked whether the government was trying to mislead the board or the people of Telangana.
The two leaders’ figures cover different ground. The Minister’s numbers relate to overall use for irrigation and power from both reservoirs as of October 28, while those cited by Harish Rao relate largely to an earlier period up to September 21 and to diversions outside the basin from Srisailam.
Medigadda repairs follow Centre’s expert panel, says Uttam Kumar Reddy
The Minister’s statement also dealt with the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme. He defended the government’s handling of repairs to the Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages, saying the work was being done strictly as recommended by the Technical Oversight Committee set up by the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti.
He said the committee included experts from the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA), the Central Water Commission (CWC) and other government agencies, and that testing, investigation, repair and rehabilitation were being carried out under its guidance.
According to the Minister, the NDSA has not allowed the barrage gates to be lowered until repairs are complete, and without lowering the gates water cannot be lifted or stored. He said the NDSA had also made clear that the Annaram and Sundilla barrages could not be used in their present condition.
Uttam Kumar Reddy blamed the previous BRS government, alleging that faulty design and construction led to the collapse of the Medigadda barrage. He said the damage had left Telangana unable to hold back Pranahita water, which was flowing downstream, and that this had worsened the State’s difficulties under El Niño conditions.
He said it was strange that the BRS, which he held responsible for conditions that had deepened the impact of El Niño on Telangana, was now blaming the Congress government.