Revanth Reddy is Villain number 1 for Telangana’s water rights: Harish Rao

BRS leader Harish Rao accused Chief Minister Revanth Reddy of undermining Telangana’s water rights and fast-tracking the Godavari-Nallamala Sagar project. He criticized the composition of the Centre-mandated water-sharing committee, calling it skewed in Andhra Pradesh’s favour

Hyderabad: BRS Legislature Party deputy leader T Harish Rao on Friday called Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy the primary villain who was conspiring against Telangana’s water rights and paving the way for Godavari-Nallamala Sagar project through deliberate inaction and flawed decisions.

Reacting to Union Ministry of Jal Shakti finalising a committee for river water sharing between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Harish Rao said the panel’s composition itself posed a serious threat to the State. He pointed out that while Andhra Pradesh’s committee includes two IAS officers and two engineers, including an officer with experience in Inter-State and Water Resources (IS&WR), Telangana’s panel has three IAS officers but only one engineering officer, with no IS&WR expertise.

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“This imbalance weakens Telangana’s position at a critical stage,” he argued.

Harish Rao reminded that the BRS had first flagged the dangers of the Banakacherla and Nallamala Sagar projects, but the Congress government ignored repeated warnings. He accused Revanth Reddy of attending a meeting with Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu in Delhi, despite being cautioned to limit discussions to the Apex Council.

He said Revanth Reddy who initially denied attending the meeting, had not only rushed to Delhi, but also signed agreements to facilitate the formation of committees to advance the Polavaram-Nallamala Sagar project.

The BRS leader said the Centre-mandated timeline of three months for the committee to finalise water sharing effectively meant fast-tracking approval for Nallamala Sagar. He questioned why the State approached the Supreme Court only after Andhra Pradesh’s tender deadline had lapsed, calling it tacit consent to the project.

Terming the developments as a conspiracy to benefit Andhra Pradesh at Telangana’s cost, Harish Rao said Revanth Reddy’s actions amounted to a clear betrayal of the State’s water rights.