BRS questions AP letter to KRMB seeking only 30 tmcft for Telangana

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi has objected to Andhra Pradesh’s appeal to restrict Krishna water allocation to Telangana at 30 tmcft, accusing the Congress government of failing to safeguard the State’s interests. Former Minister V. Srinivas Goud alleged that AP was diverting water to the Penna basin and questioned both AP’s authority and Telangana’s own admission of lacking reservoirs.

Hyderabad: The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has strongly objected to the Andhra Pradesh government’s appeal to allot only 30 tmcft of Krishna water to Telangana. It also slammed the Congress government for failing to protect the State’s interests.

“How can the Andhra Pradesh Engineer-in-Chief write to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB), asking it to allot only 30 tmcft of water to Telangana, citing lack of reservoirs and requirements?” former Minister V. Srinivas Goud asked.

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Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, the former Minister questioned the authority of the AP Engineer-in-Chief to decide the water allocation.

“How can the AP government draw 146 tmcft and ask only 30 tmcft for Telangana? This is despite 100 per cent of the Krishna basin falling in Telangana,” Goud said.

To make matters worse, the AP government was diverting Krishna water to the Penna basin, he alleged. Through the Pothreddypadu project, the AP government had assured that it would draw only 10 cusecs, but it was drawing 30,000 cusecs, he charged.

Goud alleged that conspiracies that remained under the carpet during the previous BRS government were now being hatched at the cost of Telangana’s interests.

“What is the Congress government doing and why is it endorsing the AP government’s plans?” he questioned. Goud also questioned the Telangana Engineer-in-Chief’s letter to the KRMB, which admitted that the State lacked reservoirs.

“Interestingly, the Telangana ENC writes to KRMB admitting that Telangana lacks reservoirs. Are Narlapur, Edula, Vattem, Uddandapur and Karivena not reservoirs?” Goud asked. He added that these projects were constructed by the BRS government with a vision to store 65 tmcft of water.