Revanth Reddy accuses BRS of handing over irrigation projects, challenges KCR to debate

Challenging Chandrashekhar Rao to a debate on the handing over of the irrigation projects during the forthcoming Assembly session, Revanth Reddy said a white paper would be released on the irrigation sector.

Hyderabad: Asserting that the Congress government did not hand over any of the Krishna Basin irrigation projects to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB), Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Sunday accused former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao and former Minister T Harish Rao of spreading misleading information and alleged that the it was the previous BRS government that initiated proceedings to hand over the Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam projects to the KRMB.

Challenging Chandrashekhar Rao to a debate on the handing over of the irrigation projects during the forthcoming Assembly session, Revanth Reddy said a white paper would be released on the irrigation sector. Every aspect, including handing over of projects would be discussed in detail for two days and if need be, more time would be allowed, he said.

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Accusing the previous government of ignoring Telangana’s interests in the sharing of River Krishna water, he alleged that Chandrashekhar Rao had given his nod to handing over the sharing of Krishna and Godavari waters to the Centre when the AP State Reorganization Act was formulated.

Throwing the blame entirely on the previous BRS government for Andhra Pradesh getting a higher allocation of Krishna River water, Revanth Reddy also cited documents from the 2023 budget, stating that seed money of Rs.400 crore was allocated to KRMB and GRMB, besides handing over components of Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar and Peddavagu Medium irrigation project in the Godavari basin.

Stating that officials had wrongly interpreted the decisions during the recent KRMB meeting, he said the State government had written to the KRMB on January 27 to correct the minutes of the meeting and stated no project would be handed over till River Krishna water sharing was finalized.

“In addition to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the union government should also involve Karnataka and Maharashtra governments to finalise River Krishna water sharing disputes,” Revanth Reddy said.

Accusing the previous government of failing to protest when the AP government was drawing excess River Krishna water through the Rayalaseema lift irrigation project, Revanth Reddy said in 2004, the BRS was in alliance with the then Congress government and former Chief Minister YS Rajashekhara Reddy had increased the drawing capacity of the Pothireddypadu project to four tmc against the interests of Telangana.

This apart, former AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu executed the Muchumarri project to draw an additional half tmc per day of River Krishna water. The BRS leaders had kept silent then, he alleged.