Uttam blames BRS for betraying Telangana’s interest in water shares

Hyderabad: Minister for Irrigation and Civil Supplies N Uttam Kumar Reddy has accused BRS leaders of spreading falsehoods to defame the Congress government, calling his allegations a desperate attempt to mislead the public.

He also blamed the previous BRS government for failing to protect Telangana’s water rights and causing massive financial and structural damage to the irrigation sector.

Addressing a press conference at Jala Soudha on Thursday, along with Ministers Komatireddy Venkatreddy and Ponnam Prabhakar, Uttam Kumar Reddy ridiculed BRS leaders’ criticism of the Congress government.

He said, "BRS leaders are repeatedly lying to cover up the failures of the BRS regime. The irrigation sector under BRS was riddled with scams and irregularities. The BRS government borrowed over Rs 1 lakh crore for the Kaleshwaram project, which was plagued by faulty design, poor construction, and zero maintenance. The Medigadda Barrage, which BRS described as the ‘heart of Kaleshwaram,’ collapsed during their own rule, and instead of admitting failure, KCR, Harish Rao and other BRS leaders shamelessly claim that only one pillar collapsed."

Uttam Kumar Reddy revealed that the BRS government spent Rs1.81 lakh crore on irrigation projects but failed to achieve significant ayacut expansion. The funds were acquired through high-interest, short-term loans, placing a huge financial burden on Telangana. Despite spending Rs 27,000 crore on the Palamuru-Rangareddy Project and Rs 9,000 crore on the Sitarama Lift Irrigation Project, not a single acre of land received irrigation water. Long-pending projects like Devadula, Kalwakurthy, Nettampadu, Bhima, Koyal Sagar, SLBC, and Dindi remained incomplete. The Kaleshwaram Project alone, which consumed nearly Rs1 lakh crore, delivered minimal ayacut and suffered structural failures, he pointed out.

The Minister alleged that the BRS government did not construct irrigation projects for farmers; they built them to fill their pockets.

He stated that the Congress government is working to rectify these issues by prioritising the completion of pending projects and securing Telangana’s water rights.

Reading from minutes of the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) meetings, Uttam Kumar Reddy exposed how the BRS government agreed to hand over key projects to KRMB, even allocating Rs200 crore for maintenance in the 2023-24 budget. "Unlike BRS, our government will never hand over our projects to KRMB," he asserted.

Uttam Kumar Reddy highlighted his representation at 2nd All India State Water Ministers’ Conference in Udaipur, where he exposed Andhra Pradesh’s excess withdrawals and urged the Centre to intervene. "Union Minister for Jal Shakti CR Patil and Secretary Debashree Mukherjee assured necessary directions will be issued to address Telangana’s grievances," he said.

To monitor AP’s withdrawals, the Congress government has requested the Centre to install telemetry instruments at 35 locations in Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam Dams. "Even if the Centre refuses to fund it, Telangana will install the instruments at its own cost," he declared.

Uttam Kumar Reddy assured that the SLBC Tunnel works will be completed 100 percent under the Congress regime and that the government is actively reclaiming control of Nagarjuna Sagar components from Andhra Pradesh.

"Our government is working tirelessly to rectify the damage done by the BRS government. Telangana’s rightful water share will not be compromised under our leadership," he said.