BRS cries foul as Revanth govt blinks at AP’s Nallamalla Sagar
Harish Rao demands Assembly resolution against Banakacherla, Nallamalla Sagar projects
Hyderabad: BRS senior leader T Harish Rao on Tuesday accused the Telangana government of inaction as the Andhra Pradesh government moved away from the Godavari Polavaram-Banakacherla Link project and proposed diverting water to Nallamalla Sagar. He demanded that the state adopt a resolution in the Assembly to stop the project.
Speaking at a press conference with MLA Vemula Prashanth Reddy and former MLA A Venkateshwar Reddy, Rao said Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy had boasted about stopping the Banakacherla project. In reality, AP backed off after Maharashtra and Karnataka reminded it to honour the Bachawat Tribunal award allocating water to Telangana, Karnataka, and Maharashtra in a 45:21:14 ratio.
Rao added that if water is diverted to Banakacherla or Nallamalla Sagar, Telangana will lose its share. He also criticised the meeting where Revanth Reddy claimed Banakacherla was not on the agenda, but AP Minister Nimmal Rama Naidu confirmed it was the first item.
Highlighting concerns over Nallamalla Sagar, Rao said it is double the size of Banakacherla and will involve both Godavari and Krishna waters. He questioned the appointment of Adityanath Das as committee head, noting three of seven members are from AP and that Das had previously acted against Telangana’s interests.
He also said that while the last date for the tender was December 11, the government approached the Court only on December 16 and formed the committee on December 23. “The court case will become null and void since the letter was issued after the case was filed. I don’t know whether the state government is sleeping or merely pretending to sleep. Don’t you have a responsibility to protect the interests of Telangana? What are you doing—are you facilitating AP? How can the Central Water Commission (CWC) approve a project dependent on floodwaters without consulting Telangana?” Rao said, referring to the CM, and urged him to adopt a resolution in the Assembly stating that the state opposes both the Godavari Banakacherla and Nallamalla Sagar projects.
