Will oppose Banakacherla, protect T’s river water rights: Uttam

Hyderabad: Irrigation and civil supplies minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Sunday asserted that the Congress govt will oppose Andhra Pradesh's Banakacherla project at every level. He termed the project, being taken up by AP, as a violation of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act and the 1980 Godavari River Water Agreement.Speaking at various programmes in Peddapalli district along with ministers Ponnam Prabhakar, D Sridhar Babu, Tummala Nageswara Rao, and Adluri Laxman Kumar, Uttam said the Central Water Commission (CWC), the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB), and the Polavaram Project Authority rejected permissions for Banakacherla based on Telangana's objections. The Centre also withheld environmental clearances in response to the state's representations.Referring to the recent meeting of chief ministers of Telangana and AP with the Union jal shakti minister in New Delhi, Uttam said Telangana firmly placed its objections against the Banakacherla project. He accused BRS leaders of speaking irresponsibly and misleading the public despite knowing that the project violates inter-state water-sharing laws. He also criticised Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh for vowing to proceed with Banakacherla, stating that Telangana would not allow the project to be built."It was Telangana's formal objections that prompted the Centre to oppose the project. Banakacherla is against the provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act and earlier water-sharing agreements. Telangana govt will take all steps to halt its construction. Former chief minister K Chandrasekar Rao allowed Godavari water to be diverted to Rayalaseema. He betrayed Telangana's river water rights. Telangana govt intends not only to use existing irrigation infrastructure but also build new projects along the Godavari river, including the Icchampally project, to fully utilise its share of river water," he said.Over 1 lakh crore was spent on the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project by the previous BRS govt, but the Medigadda barrage component of the project failed to provide any benefit. Though the Kaleshwaram project passes through the Manthani constituency, it has not irrigated even a single acre. Yet, Telangana achieved record-level paddy production, showing that the state's agricultural performance was not dependent on Kaleshwaram alone, he addded.On the issuance of new ration cards, the minister said the Congress govt was currently distributing fine rice to 3.17 crore beneficiaries, replacing the low-quality coarse rice that 2.81 crore people received during the previous govt tenure. "Nearly, 84% of the state's population is covered under the fine rice scheme. The number of ration cards increased from 89 lakh to 98.59 lakh, with 8.64 lakh new cards issued since Congress came to power," he added.Box:Uttam Kumar Reddy said the state cabinet will discuss the report on the Kaleshwaram project and take a policy decision. "The Congress govt is committed to protecting the river water rights of the people of Telangana," he added. The minister inaugurated the Ramagundam lift irrigation scheme in Anthargone mandal, stating that the project would provide irrigation water to 13,396 acres.