Hyderabad: The Centre’s decision to return the Palamuru-Rangareddy project DPR was unjust, former minister and BRS leader Singireddy Niranjan Reddy said.
He blamed the Congress government’s alleged negligence for the development. Singireddy also accused the State government of placing Telangana’s water interests in the hands of Andhra Pradesh officials.
The former minister alleged that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy was compromising Palamuru’s future for the sake of his political mentor N. Chandrababu Naidu.
He questioned why the Centre had raised objections to the Palamuru-Rangareddy project while projects such as Polavaram and Banakacherla did not face similar concerns.
Singireddy also accused the BJP of sacrificing Telangana’s interests for those of Andhra Pradesh. He alleged that eight BJP MPs and eight Congress MPs from Telangana had failed to raise their voice in Parliament over the State’s irrigation projects.
He questioned why the Centre had granted national status to a Karnataka project but had not accorded the same status to the Palamuru-Rangareddy project.
Palamuru-Rangareddy project needs immediate DPR approval
Singireddy described the positions of the Congress and BJP on the project as a “hypocritical drama”. He said the BRS government had secured all clearances except the hydrology clearance during its tenure.
Returning the DPR at the final stage was unjust, he said. Singireddy also referred to a recent Supreme Court clearance and argued that the environmental clearance for the project should follow.
According to him, hydrology linked to water allocation remained the only pending issue. He said the matter was also before the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal.
Singireddy said the Telangana government had already allocated 90 TMC from its existing water allocation for the Palamuru-Rangareddy project.
Therefore, he demanded that the Centre approve the DPR immediately. He also urged the State government to send an all-party delegation to Delhi to press for approval.
Singireddy warned that any injustice to farmers of the Palamuru region would leave Revanth Reddy and the Congress with a permanent mark of betrayal in history.