Harish Rao questions Congress claim of 280 TMCft Krishna water use, demands white paper

BRS leader T Harish Rao questioned the Congress government’s claim of utilising 280 TMCft of Krishna water and demanded a white paper. He also raised concerns over crop holidays, irrigation projects and alleged inadequate water lifting across Telangana

Mahabubnagar: BRSLP deputy leader T Harish Rao questioned the Congress government’s claim of utilising 280 TMCft of Krishna water and demanded a white paper explaining where and how the water was used. He asked why a crop holiday was declared in parts of the Krishna River basin if the State had actually utilised such quantities.

He questioned Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy’s claim on Krishna River water utilisation. He said Telangana’s temporary share was 34 per cent, but only 28 per cent was utilised in 2024-25 and 25 per cent in 2025-26.

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“Where and when did you use 280 TMCft of Krishna water? Release a white paper and explain,” the BRS leader demanded. He also questioned the decision to declare a crop holiday for the Nagarjuna Sagar left canal ayacut. He demanded that the government disclose the actual utilisation.

Addressing a press conference in Nagarkurnool on Wednesday, Harish Rao alleged that the Congress government was citing El Nino as an excuse to avoid releasing water to farmers. “Not El Nino, but the Congress rule is responsible for this water crisis,” he said.

He questioned the government’s handling of the Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigation Scheme, stating that only one to three of its five pumps were being operated for just eight hours a day. Though the system could draw 4,000 cusecs when operated together, only about 800 cusecs was being lifted, he alleged. He said the pumps could supply 2,400 cusecs even if three were operated round the clock.

The former Irrigation Minister also questioned why farmers in Telangana were facing a crop holiday when water was available in the Srisailam reservoir. He alleged that Andhra Pradesh was drawing Krishna River water to Kuppam, about 800 km away, while Telangana was not lifting water for its own ayacut.

Harish Rao pointed out that the previous BRS government transformed pending irrigation projects, including Kalwakurthy, Nettempadu, Bhima and Koilsagar, expanding irrigation from about 26,000 acres to 6.5 lakh acres in the Palamuru region. He demanded immediate completion of Package-3 of the Palamuru-Rangareddy project and filling of the four reservoirs, alleging that incomplete works had deprived the region of the opportunity to store and lift available water.

He said a similar situation prevailed in the Godavari River basin, with Devadula project pumps being operated for only eight hours despite water being available. He demanded that water be lifted continuously from all irrigation projects on both the Krishna and Godavari rivers.