Protect Telangana’s water rights or face mass movement, KTR tells Congress govt

BRS working president KT Rama Rao warned of a major agitation if Telangana’s water rights are compromised, accusing the Congress government of yielding to Andhra Pradesh’s influence and mismanaging irrigation and industrial land policies. He vowed to scrap the controversial HILT policy and expose alleged irregularities in land and property restrictions.

Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao warned that the party would launch a major agitation on the scale of the Telangana movement if the State’s legitimate rights over river waters were compromised. He said protecting Telangana’s water rights was the party’s top priority.

Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, he questioned the State government’s decision to accept the agenda of the upcoming Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) meeting.

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Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy should clarify whether they had accepted the agenda and whether they would attend the meeting, he demanded.

“The meeting’s agenda is completely against Telangana’s interests. If the government has any concern for Telangana, it should boycott the meeting,” Rama Rao said.

He warned that the BRS would not remain a silent spectator if the Centre or any neighbouring State acted against Telangana’s share of river waters. If Telangana faced injustice in the name of the Centre, a powerful agitation, even bigger than the Telangana movement, would emerge in the State, he cautioned.

Rama Rao alleged that the Congress government was functioning under the influence of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and compromising Telangana’s interests over river waters.

Questioning the appointment of Adityanath Das as an adviser, he asked why the government had to depend on an individual whom he described as being opposed to Telangana’s interests when the State had several experienced engineers and experts.

He further criticised the government for allegedly failing to protect Telangana’s irrigation interests while neighbouring States were drawing water from rivers.

The BRS working president charged that despite the Chief Minister’s association with Palamuru, adequate water was not being ensured for farmers in the region. The government was responding only after pressure from the opposition and farmers, he slammed.

BRS will scrap HILT policy: KTR

Rama Rao also charged that the Congress government was attempting to hand over valuable industrial land in Hyderabad to private interests through the HILT policy. He said around 10,000 acres of valuable land in Hyderabad, estimated to be worth nearly Rs 5 lakh crore was at risk.

“The BRS will scrap the HILT policy immediately after returning to power,” he said, adding the party would also launch a campaign to educate people and industrial organisations about what he described as the adverse implications of the policy. The BRS working president also said the party would write to industrial organisations and place details of the policy before the public through representations and presentations.

He maintained that land originally allotted for industrial development and employment generation was now being opened up for private commercial and real-estate activities.

“Those getting their properties regularised under the present policy could face serious losses in the future,” Rama Rao warned, adding that BRS would also approach the High Court over the alleged irregularities in the HILT policy and place all relevant issues before the judiciary and the people.

People’s properties being targeted, alleges KTR

The BRS working president further alleged that the government was expanding the prohibited-properties list and using Section 22-A restrictions to create difficulties for ordinary property owners. He claimed that large numbers of private properties were being brought under restrictions, preventing people from selling or dealing with their properties.

He alleged that the new restrictions were being used to harass property owners and create opportunities for illegal collections. The BRS, he said, would expose what it described as irregularities relating to Section 22-A restrictions, HILTP, TDR (Transferable Development Rights) transactions and other land-related decisions of the Congress government.