Andhra Pradesh plotting to divert Godavari waters, Revanth Reddy betraying Telangana: Harish Rao

The BRS has accused the Congress government of compromising Telangana’s water rights by supporting the Godavari–Cauvery interlinking proposal. Harish Rao alleged the move could divert significant allocations from Telangana and demanded an Assembly session and stronger state-level opposition.

Hyderabad: The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has accused the Congress government of compromising Telangana’s water rights by supporting the proposed Godavari-Cauvery river interlinking project through Andhra Pradesh. The party termed the move a historic betrayal and alleged that the Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy was cooperating to benefit his mentor and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, neglecting the interests of Telangana and its people.

At a press conference here on Sunday, the party deputy floor leader and former Minister T Harish Rao said linking the proposed Godavari-Nallamala Sagar project with the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme would adversely affect Telangana’s tribunal-backed water entitlements. He alleged that while earlier attempts such as the Godavari-Banakacherla and Nallamala Sagar proposals, had been resisted through BRS agitations, Andhra Pradesh had now revived the concept under the banner of the Godavari-Cauvery interlinking project.

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The former Irrigation Minister said the original proposal discussed in meetings of the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) envisaged drawing water from Itchampally or Sammakka Sagar within Telangana, linking it to Nagarjuna Sagar and then onward to the Cauvery basin. He presented documents of the meeting where Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and even the Central Water Commission (CWC) had agreed to this framework.

“The then BRS government insisted that Telangana’s allocated 968 TMCft of Godavari River water be fully protected before any interlinking project moved forward, apart from providing 50 per cent of water from projects taken up under this interlinking project,” he said, adding that an in-principle agreement was given to these proposals. As per the fresh assessment, Telangana is eligible for 1,050 TMCft in Godavari River water.

However the latest proposal from Andhra Pradesh seeks to divert water directly from Polavaram through Nallamala Sagar to the Cauvery basin, completely bypassing Telangana. “There is no surplus water in the Godavari River. Even the Centre has acknowledged this on multiple occasions earlier. Yet Andhra Pradesh is attempting to corner the resource, leaving Telangana without even a single drop,” he alleged, stating that if the proposal materialises, Telangana would gain nothing while Andhra Pradesh would secure a national project without spending its own resources.

The BRSLP deputy leader said the diversion could force Telangana to forgo 47 TMCft earmarked for the Sammakka Sagar project and jeopardise pending approvals for several irrigation schemes, including Sammakka Sagar, Wardha, Yellampalli expansion, Adilabad minor irrigation projects and Lower Penganga. He suspected that the State could lose as much as 211 TMCft of water through the combined impact of pending allocations and interlinking diversions.

He said Telangana consistently maintained before the NWDA that interlinking should only proceed after clearances for projects covering 968 TMCft were granted and after ensuring that 50 per cent of the diverted waters benefited Telangana. He recalled that this position had been reiterated during multiple NWDA meetings between 2015 and 2023.

Questioning the State government’s stand, Harish Rao ridiculed Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s reported suggestion that approval for the Godavari-Banakacherla project could be linked to clearance for the Palamuru-Rangareddy scheme. “Such a position would weaken Telangana’s legal claims over its allocated waters,” he added.

The BRS leader also alleged that several high-level meetings involving officials of Andhra Pradesh, the union Government and Telangana took place in recent months regarding the interlinking proposal, but the minutes had not been made public. He said even Revanth Reddy participated in one of these meetings. He demanded that the State government disclose the details of these discussions.

Targeting both the Congress government in Telangana and the BJP-led Centre, Harish Rao accused them of remaining silent over the attempt to divert Telangana’s rightful share of Godavari waters. He questioned the role of union Ministers G Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay, as well as BJP MPs from Telangana, asking why they failed to safeguard the State’s interests.

He also raised concern over Krishna water utilisation, stating that Telangana used only about 25 per cent of the available water while Andhra Pradesh utilised nearly 75 per cent. He alleged that similar neglect was now extending to the Godavari basin.

Demanding immediate intervention, the BRS leader called upon the State government to oppose the Polavaram-Cauvery link, convene a special Assembly session to pass a resolution against the project and organise an all-party delegation to Delhi. He said the BRS was prepared to join or lead a broader public movement if necessary to protect Telangana’s water rights.