Telangana State not to release 200 cr seed money

Hyderabad: Miffed over the 'reluctance' of the Krishna and Godavari River Management Boards in resolving its grievances, the Telangana government has decided not to release the seed money of Rs 200 crore as mentioned in the gazette notification issued by the Centre. According to official sources, the State government has decided to represent its case before the Union Jal Shakti Ministry and would demand that their grievances be first resolved. They claim that the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) and Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) were not taking into consideration the issues raised by the Telangana government. They did not even consider the request of the government to postpone the meeting as the officials concerned had to attend some court cases. They further said that the KRMB has been ignoring their objections to the release of water through Pothireddypadu by the Andhra Pradesh government.

A top official told The Hans India that the Irrigation department had compiled the whole data of the excess release of water by AP since the bifurcation of the State and submitted to the board, but no steps were taken to stop Andhra from drawing water illegally.

Officials said that the two boards were functioning against the wishes of Telangana since its inception.

"What is the need of the boards when the grievances of the State are not addressed even during the crisis time. The KRMB's instruction to Telangana to stop hydel power generation from the Srisailam Left Power House was a clear indication of indifference shown towards Telangana," they added.

Since there is no relief to the State from the boards, the TS government decided to send the reports pertaining to the exploitation of water by AP and the requirement of water in the current agricultural season to the Union ministry directly. If the Centre failed to respond to its requests positively, the TS government would chalk out another action plan, the officials said.