Telangana’s water rights, irrigation sector issues to figure in key BRS meeting on December 19

The BRS will hold a joint meeting on December 19 to discuss Krishna and Godavari water sharing, alleging Congress negligence on irrigation projects and PRLIS allocations. The party is considering a renewed public agitation to protect Telangana’s water and farmers’ rights.

Hyderabad: Buoyed by the party’s encouraging performance in the ongoing local body elections and sensing the growing public mood against the ruling Congress, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) will hold a joint meeting of its Legislature Party and State Executive Committee on December 19 at Telangana Bhavan.

The meeting, to start from 2 pm under the chairmanship of party president and former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, aims to deliberate on critical issues surrounding Telangana’s share in Krishna and Godavari river waters, with a focus on the negligence by the Congress government in advancing irrigation projects initiated during the BRS tenure. According to official sources, the discussions will highlight the need for a renewed public movement to safeguard the State’s agricultural interests and farmers’ rights. Key agenda items include the Congress administration’s failure to prevent Andhra Pradesh from looting waters from the Godavari and Krishna rivers.

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BRS leaders feel the State government has miserably failed in this regard, leading to severe injustices for Telangana’s farmers. In light of this, the party is considering launching another public agitation to protect irrigation rights. A major point of contention is the Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS). During the BRS regime, 91 TMC feet of water was allocated to the project. However, the Congress government is said to have settled for just 45 TMC in negotiations with the Centre, a move described as “deeply regrettable” and detrimental to the State’s interests.

Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy has come under fire for “kneeling before the Centre’ and accepting the reduced allocation, which BRS says amounts to mortgaging the benefits of Telangana’s farmers. The party has emphasized that this stand taken by the Congress is causing “grave injustice” to the State. The meeting will also address the silence of the eight BJP MPs from Telangana on these water issues, despite their presence in Parliament. BRS says this inaction is a pointer to BJP’s insincere approach to Telangana’s interests, particularly in matters of river interlinking like the Cauvery project, which they say aids Andhra Pradesh’s water exploitation at Telangana’s expense.

Chandrashekhar Rao has always stressed that direct public protests were the only recourse to counter the BJP-led Centre’s injustices on irrigation matters. The party feels that if BRS had returned to power, water from the PRLIS would already be flowing, benefiting farmers in Palamuru, Rangareddy and Nalgonda districts. Instead, even after two years in office, the Congress government has displayed ‘complete indifference’, resulting in no progress on these projects and heavy losses for local residents and farmers, they said, adding that accepting only 45 TMC for PRLIS was “utterly heinous and treacherous,” and that the party would never compromise on protecting Telangana’s irrigation rights.

In addition to water-related concerns, the meeting will cover the party organizational structure and other key matters. In-depth discussions are expected, leading to crucial decisions on the form and action plan for upcoming public movements. The session is expected to lay the groundwork for a structured agitation against the handling of Telangana’s irrigation projects, PRLIS construction, water allocations and Andhra Pradesh’s alleged water theft from the Godavari and Krishna rivers. BRS leaders said it would be a starting point for a renewed fight to defend the State’s water resources.