Hyderabad: The Supreme Court will hear today (Monday) the writ petition filed by the Telangana government. Through this plea, the State has sought a stay on Andhra Pradesh’s proposed Polavaram expansion works.
Ahead of the hearing, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy held consultations with senior Supreme Court advocate Abhishek Singhvi in Mumbai on Sunday. During the meeting, they finalised the legal strategy.
The Telangana government had recently approached the Supreme Court. In its submission, it alleged that Andhra Pradesh had taken up expansion works without mandatory approvals. Therefore, the Chief Minister asked irrigation officials to keep all technical documents ready.
State seeks immediate halt to expansion works
In its writ petition, Telangana urged the Supreme Court to direct the Polavaram Project Authority to immediately stop the expansion works. According to the State, the project must remain within the scope originally approved.
Further, Telangana argued that any extension or linking works were illegal. It also objected to the Centre examining pre-feasibility reports of the Nallamala Sagar project without considering the State’s objections.
Additionally, the petition sought directions to the Central Water Commission, the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Godavari River Management Board. Telangana alleged that Andhra Pradesh was preparing a DPR in violation of Central Water Commission guidelines.
As a result, the State requested the court to restrain the Centre from granting environmental clearances or financial assistance. It maintained that any unauthorised expansion would harm Telangana’s water interests.