Harish Rao questions Congress govt’s negligence putting Telangana’s water rights at risk

Former Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao accused the Telangana government of neglecting lift irrigation projects and compromising water security. He sought uninterrupted power supply, withdrawal of the proposed Rythu DISCOM and measures to ensure full utilisation of Krishna and Godavari waters

Hyderabad: BRS Legislative Party deputy leader and former Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao accused the Congress government of endangering Telangana’s water security by neglecting the operation and maintenance of key lift irrigation projects. He demanded immediate measures to ensure full utilisation of Krishna and Godavari river waters allocated to Telangana, and adequate budgetary allocations for the maintenance and modernisation of major irrigation projects.

He also wanted the government to withdraw the proposed Rythu DISCOM and provide uninterrupted 24-hour power supply for lift irrigation projects during the pumping season.

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In an open letter to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday, Harish Rao said that despite repeated warnings from the BRS in April this year, the State government neglected the operation and maintenance of key lift irrigation pumps, resulting in damage to equipment at the Kaleshwaram and Devadula projects. He said pumps and motors at the Gayatri Pumping Station and other lift irrigation facilities suffered damage due to the government’s decision to repeatedly switch them on and off.

He said such operational practices, which were allegedly linked to power management decisions, weakened critical infrastructure built with public funds running into thousands of crores.

The BRSLP deputy leader questioned a reported directive by TG Transco to operate lift irrigation pumps mainly during daylight hours to utilise available solar power. He asked whether any technical study had been conducted before implementing such a policy, warning that frequent stoppages could damage heavy machinery and permanently reduce pumping efficiency.

Harish Rao also expressed concern over GO Ms. No. 8, which allocates substantial renewable power to the proposed Telangana Rythu Power Distribution Company (TGRPDC). He said that since solar generation was largely confined to daytime, restricting pumping operations to those hours could adversely affect the utilisation of Krishna and Godavari river waters apart from damaging motors.

The former Minister argued that projects such as Kaleshwaram, Devadula and Palamuru-Rangareddy were conceived to fully utilise Telangana’s allocated river waters during periods of water scarcity. He stated that any limitation on pumping would impact agriculture, drinking water supply, groundwater recharge, fisheries, industries and rural livelihoods.

Citing official water utilisation data, Harish Rao alleged that Telangana’s share of Krishna waters fell to a historic low under the Congress government. While Andhra Pradesh utilised 72.73 per cent of the available waters in 2024-25 and 74.9 per cent in 2025-26, Telangana’s utilisation declined from 27.27 per cent to 25.10 per cent during the same period, he added.

The BRS leader said the figures indicated the government’s failure to protect the State’s water rights despite adequate water availability. He warned that unless corrective steps were taken, the future of Telangana’s farmers, industries and drinking water security would be at risk.