Harish Rao flays Centre, State for criminal negligence in installing Krishna River telemetry systems

BRS leader T Harish Rao accused Central, Telangana, and Andhra governments of negligence over Krishna River telemetry systems, alleging fund diversion, illegal water usage, and delays harming Telangana’s interests

Hyderabad: BRS deputy floor leader and former Minister T Harish Rao on Thursday lashed out at both the Central and State governments for their negligence in the installation of telemetry systems meant to monitor Krishna river water usage. He questioned the Congress government’s silence over the Krishna River Managament Board (KRMB) diverting Rs.4.18 crore allocated by the State for telemetry installation.

He demanded for immediate recovery of funds by lodging a formal complaint with the Central government, instead of merely writing letters and wasting time.

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In a statement, Harish Rao accused the Congress government of deliberately delaying installation of telemetry systems. He said it amounted to collusion with Andhra Pradesh, enabling illegal water diversion. “This negligence is as damaging as what we saw in the Polavaram-Nallamala Sagar issue,” he said.

The senior BRS leader pointed out that KRMB had decided in 2016 to install telemetry devices at 18 locations in the first phase and nine more in the second. He said despite the Centre hiding behind sub-judice excuses, former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao pushed for installation of 18 telemetry devices and succeeded even when the case was before the Supreme Court.

“But since the Congress came to power two years ago, nothing moved forward as the Centre did nothing but making empty promises. What is stopping Telangana from confronting Andhra Pradesh for ignoring its financial responsibility toward the project?” he asked, accusing the Centre, Andhra Pradesh and the Telangana governments of jointly inflicting grave injustice on the State.