CM Revanth Reddy accuses BRS of compromising water rights in Godavari-Banakacherla deal

LatestPoliticsTelangana
By HNH Web Desk
Godavari-Banakacherla

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Wednesday directly accused the previous BRS government of facilitating Andhra Pradesh’s proposed Godavari-Banakacherla project by agreeing to water-sharing arrangements during its tenure.

Speaking to reporters after an all-party meeting, Reddy cited documented records, including the 2016 Apex Council proceedings chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to show that then Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao had proposed diverting 3,000 TMC of Godavari water to Rayalaseema, asserting that 1,000 TMC was going waste into the sea.

He said KCR’s claim formed the basis of Andhra Pradesh’s current plans to divert up to 400 TMC through the Banakacherla project. Revanth Reddy described the past agreement between KCR and Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy as a “deliberate surrender” of Telangana’s interests, adding that four rounds of meetings had taken place between the two during 2019.

Revanth Reddy alleged that BRS’s position had shifted post-election defeat, accusing them of “blatant lies” and “twisting facts” for political rehabilitation. He said that while in power, BRS leaders, including former Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao, had collaborated with Congress governments between 2004-2014 on irrigation projects, even offering suggestions at the time. “Now they’re slinging mud to cover up their own complicity,” he said.

He quoted KCR’s comments from the 2016 Apex Council minutes and said he would forward a copy to Harish Rao. According to the Chief Minister, the very premise of diverting Godavari water to Rayalaseema was a BRS initiative.

Godavari-Banakacherla

He accused BRS leaders of prioritising contractor interests over irrigation needs, alleging that meetings were held not for public benefit but for kickbacks. “Now that they are out of power, they are launching a campaign to discredit the Congress government,” he said.

Revanth also took aim at KCR for abandoning critical irrigation infrastructure such as the Panahitha-Chevella project, and for engineering structural failures in the Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages of the Kaleshwaram project. “Ten years, not a single pending project completed,” he said. He added that their decisions had cost lakhs of acres of irrigation and caused financial waste.

The Chief Minister said Telangana’s Congress government had revived pending work, including SLBC, and accused BRS of “celebrating deaths” just to blame the government. “Have some dignity,” he told Harish Rao.

Revanth said Telangana had no secret motives and had taken a measured approach – political first, legal if needed. He said the state would never give up its natural rights over Godavari water, and had formally appealed to the Centre to stop Andhra Pradesh from proceeding.

He dismissed the belief that political influence in Delhi could guarantee approvals. Addressing Andhra Pradesh CM N. Chandrababu Naidu, he said, “If you think you can get clearances from Modi, remember: Modi needs you, but that won’t protect your project.”

He challenged Naidu to first give Telangana unrestricted access to its 968 TMC assured share before touching any surplus. “Give us NOCs for our Krishna and Godavari projects. Then you can use what’s left.”

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