Revanth Urges Centre to Ensure fair Allocation of Krishna River Water to Telangana

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has urged Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil to allocate a fair share of river Krishna water to Telangana.

Since the Krishna basin covered 70 per cent of Telangana and 30 per cent of Andhra Pradesh, the Chief Minister appealed to Patil to allocate 70 per cent of Krishna water to the Telangana State.

The Chief Minister pleaded with the Union Minister to take a decision on AP projects only after finalisation of Telangana share in the river Godavari.

Revanth Reddy and State Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy met Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil in Delhi on Monday and requested to safeguard the interests of Telangana in Krishna and Godavari river water sharing.

Later, speaking to the media, Revanth Reddy said that he had brought to the attention of the Union Minister about the KRMB’s (Krishna River Management Board) unilateral decision of allocating 66 per cent of water to AP and 34 per cent to Telangana despite most of the Krishna river’s catchment area covered in Telangana.

Stating that Telangana meted out injustice for years and Andhra Pradesh is drawing water more than allocations this year also, the Chief Minister requested the Union Minister to ensure the Andhra Pradesh state draw water not more than allocations in the future .

During the meeting, Revanth Reddy briefed Patil about the importance of installation of Telemetry immediately to ascertain the utilisation of water from the projects on river Krishna and the Telangana Government’s readiness to bear the cost of the new system , if required.

He also brought to the notice of the Union Minister about the submission of DPR for the Palamuru-RangaReddy lift irrigation project to the centre in 2022 and the delay in granting permission.

The Chief Minister informed the Union Minister that permissions have been given only for Upper Bhadra, which is in the jurisdiction of the courts and the required permission for Sitarama lift irrigation and Sammakka Sagar barrages are not given.

The Union Minister has been requested to grant necessary clearances from the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the Technical Advisory Board (TAC) for these three projects.

The Chief Minister also informed the Jal Shakti Minister that the Andhra Pradesh government designed Godavari-Banakachar interlinking project in violation of the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act and also not obtained any clearances from the Central Water Commission, Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) and KRMB for this project.

Since Sitarama Lift Project and Sammakka Sagar Project taken up on Godavari did not get clearances yet, Revanth Reddy requested the Union Minister to give clearances to these projects and also finalise assured water share of Telangana in Godavari immediately.

The Chief Minister reminded that Telangana will lose ayacut stabilisation if the projects are not approved as the state already meted out injustice in krishna water by showing the ayacut in Krishna delta.

He explained to the Union Minister that the AP Godavari-Banakarla project has not been discussed in the Apex Council, where the Chief Ministers of both the States are Members. Revanth Reddy made it clear to the Union Minister that Telangana government will not compromise on the issue of protecting Telangana's water resources.

The Chief Minister appealed to CR Patil to provide adequate financial assistance under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit program (AIBP) for Palamuru-Ranga Reddy, Sitarama Lift Irrigation Scheme, Modi Kunta Vagu, Chanaka Korata Barrage (Distribution System), Chinna Kaleshwaram (Mukteshwar) Lift Irrigation Schemes and also financial assistance under PMRP 2024.

He also urged the Union Minister to provide interest-free loans to Telangana for 50 years under infrastructure development for irrigation projects.

Since the government is planning to take up the construction of the project at Tummidihatti under Pranahita-Chevella project, the Chief Minister requested the Union Minister to help get permissions from the Maharashtra government on the submergence.