Hyderabad: Stating that Telangana’s Water Rights were under threat, senior BRS leader T Harish Rao on Friday slammed the silence and inaction of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.

Addressing a press conference at Telangana Bhavan, Harish Rao said that the Telangana movement was built on the slogan of ‘Neellu, Nidhulu, Niyamakalu’ (water, funds, and employment). “However, today, the State was being gravely wronged in terms of water rights, while the government remains indifferent. Due to the negligence of the Chief Minister, the Minister for Irrigation, and officials, Telangana was facing the risk of significant losses in water resources. Despite Andhra Pradesh advancing illegal projects on a war footing, the Telangana government has taken no proactive measures, even failing to send an official letter to halt these activities,” he emphasised.

Reports indicate that Andhra Pradesh was making large-scale efforts to divert Godavari river waters, while both Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka were constructing new projects on the Tungabhadra River to divert substantial amounts of water. Andhra Pradesh already tripled the capacity of the Polavaram Right Canal, enabling the transfer of 200 TMC of water from the Godavari to the Penna Basin through the Banakacharla cross-regulator—all without securing mandatory approvals.

Major Telangana projects like Sitarama Sagar, Sammakka Sagar, the third TMC allocation of Kaleshwaram, and Ambedkar Varada remain pending, as the Congress government failed to secure clearances for them during its tenure.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh is rapidly executing projects without securing approvals from the Central Water Commission, interstate bodies, or the Godavari and Krishna River Management Boards, as mandated by the AP Reorganisation Act. Telangana’s silence on these violations is deeply concerning, he said. A glaring example of negligence is the government’s appointment of Adityanath Das, a former Andhra Pradesh official who actively worked against Telangana’s water interests, as an advisor. Notably, Adityanath Das was sentenced to three months in jail by the Supreme Court for presenting false arguments in favor of Andhra Pradesh’s illegal Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project. Appointing such an individual raises serious questions about the government’s priorities, said Rao.

The Chief Minister’s silence raises doubts about whether there are political obligations at play. “Is this in exchange for a ‘guru dakshina’? Why has the CM not approached Union Ministers or the Prime Minister to demand a halt to Andhra Pradesh’s illegal projects?” asked Harish Rao.