No intention to hand over projects to KRMB: Uttam

Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged that former Chief Minister and BRS President K Chandrashekhar Rao and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had conspired to deny Telangana its rightful share of Krishna waters

Hyderabad: Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Monday alleged that former Chief Minister and BRS President K Chandrashekhar Rao and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had conspired to deny Telangana its rightful share of Krishna waters.

Addressing a press conference, the Minister alleged that Chandrashekhar Rao did not attend a meeting convened by the union government and the absence resulted in him not opposing the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme. Alleging that it was the previous BRS government that facilitated the AP government to float tenders for the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation schemes by postponing the Apex Council meeting, Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged that the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation project was started a few days after a secret agreement between Rao and Jagan.

---

The previous government also failed to utilize 7 TMC of Krishna water that comes by gravity to Telangana and allowed Andhra Pradesh to take 8 TMC per day from Srisailam, he alleged.

Accusing former minister Harish Rao and other BRS leaders for spreading misinformation, the Irrigation Minister stated that the Congress government would never hand over the control of Telangana’s projects to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB). The Congress government took charge on December 7 last, and in the last 56 days, the proposal was never considered, and the government would never hand over the control to KRMB, he claimed.

It was the BRS government that agreed to hand over the projects to KRMB, and the same was reflected in the documents of the 2023-24 budget presented by the then Chief Minister Rao himself. Apart from handing over the projects, the BRS government also allocated Rs 200 crore for maintenance, he alleged.