Hyderabad: Telangana’s Irrigation Minister Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy has thrown down the gauntlet, vowing to block Andhra Pradesh’s contentious Banakacharla project and ensure Telangana’s water rights remain sacrosanct.
Speaking informally to reporters at the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Telangana Secretariat on Friday, Uttam Kumar Reddy outlined the state’s determined stand, revealing that he had written repeatedly to the Centre to highlight what he called brazen violations by Andhra Pradesh.
He described how, in a letter dated 22 January 2025 to Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil, he laid bare the details of the proposed scheme. Andhra Pradesh, he said, had declared the Banakacharla Link Project to divert Godavari River floodwaters to Rayalaseema, specifically to a 150 TMC reservoir planned at Bollapalli in Guntur district. Uttam Kumar Reddy underscored that the project had been presented to the public in a press conference and a PowerPoint briefing back in December 2024, yet Andhra Pradesh had not bothered to submit a Detailed Project Report or seek any of the required clearances.
Uttam Kumar Reddy minced no words in accusing Andhra Pradesh of sidestepping mandatory approvals from the Central Water Commission, the Godavari and Krishna River Management Boards, and the Apex Council, all of which are laid out in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014. “No inter-state river project can move ahead without these approvals. Andhra Pradesh is flouting every rule in the book,” he charged.
He further said that Andhra Pradesh was exploiting sections of the Act that deal with backward region funds, conveniently ignoring the stringent conditions attached to inter-state water projects. “Sections 46(2) and 46(3) don’t override Part IX of the Act, which makes technical clearance and inter-state consultation non-negotiable,” he said.
The minister pulled no punches, warning that Andhra Pradesh’s move would violate the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal’s 1980 award, which allocates 966 tmcft to Telangana from the Godavari’s total of 1,486 tmcft. Andhra Pradesh’s talk of tapping so-called “flood waters” was an attempt to cloak its water grab in false legality, he said. “These are not surplus waters up for grabs. Any attempt to divert them hits Telangana’s drought-prone areas first,” he cautioned.
He also pointed out that Andhra Pradesh had yet to send a single project proposal for scrutiny, even as it wrote multiple letters to the Union Finance Ministry and the Jal Shakti Ministry seeking funds. “All that the Centre has done is forward those letters to the technical bodies for comments. That’s no substitute for the rigorous process the law demands,” he said.
Uttam Kumar Reddy noted that Union Minister C.R. Patil had confirmed in his response dated 28 May 2025 that no detailed proposal had landed on the Centre’s desk from Andhra Pradesh. Patil had assured that once any formal proposal was received, it would be examined thoroughly against the existing legal and technical frameworks.
Turning his ire towards the previous BRS government, Uttam Kumar Reddy accused it of betraying Telangana’s rightful share. “The BRS regime signed away Telangana’s water share from 724 tmcft to 299 tmcft, giving away 512 tmcft to Andhra Pradesh,” he said. He also slammed the BRS for failing to challenge water diversions in the Krishna basin at Mucchumarri and Malyala. “They didn’t even try to bring these issues to the Apex Council. This was nothing short of a secret pact between KCR and Jagan,” he charged.
He claimed that during the BRS government’s tenure, Andhra Pradesh’s daily diversion of 3 tmcft of Krishna water had pushed Telangana’s drought-prone areas deeper into distress. “They worked hand in glove to let Andhra Pradesh drain Telangana’s water. And now, these very leaders are trying to act as saviours. Their double-speak would put even Goebbels to shame,” he said with biting sarcasm.
He urged Union Ministers Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay to stand shoulder to shoulder with Telangana in this battle. “We won’t stop until Telangana gets every drop it is entitled to. This is a fight we will not abandon,” he declared.
The Telangana Government is intensifying its fight against Andhra Pradesh’s proposed Godavari-Banakacharla Link Scheme, determined to protect Telangana’s water rights and uphold the law.
I had written multiple letters to the Centre, exposing serious violations by Andhra Pradesh… pic.twitter.com/HD8B82kosw
— Uttam Kumar Reddy (@UttamINC) June 6, 2025
Uttam Kumar Reddy reiterated that no project proposal from Andhra Pradesh had yet reached Telangana, but promised any future submissions would face close scrutiny. “The law is on Telangana’s side, and the Centre knows it cannot afford to bypass that,” he said. “We will fight tooth and nail for Telangana’s water rights. We will not back down.”
