Telangana Minister Uttam asks Centre to reject AP request for appraisal of Banakacherla
HYDERABAD: Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Monday requested Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav not to undertake any appraisal of the Polavaram-Banakacherla project proposed by the Andhra Pradesh government and reject outright the request to grant ToR in the upcoming meeting of EAC.
In a letter to the Union minister, Uttam said that the AP government submitted the proposal to the Ministry of Environment and Forest requesting terms of reference (ToR) for the Polavaram-Banakacherla link project to divert 200 tmcft of floodwaters. This proposal was included as an agenda item for the 33rd meeting of the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on river valley projects scheduled on June 17, 2025.
'In this regard, it is to state that Andhra Pradesh has no locus standi for undertaking such a link project as the proposal submitted by it is totally against the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal, 1980. The Telangana government, in its earlier protracted correspondence to MoEF/MoJS/CWC/GRMB/PPA, has explicitly stated that AP has no right to unilaterally proceed with such a huge project which will alter the water dynamics of the River Godavari infringing on the water rights of Telangana state,' Uttam wrote to Yadav in the letter.
The Ministry of Jal Shakti too on its part assured Telangana that Central Water Commission (CWC) would duly examine such a proposal in accordance with extant guidelines, existing awards, inter-state agreements and various provisions under Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, Uttam recalled.
The letter also pointed out that the AP submitted the Pre-Feasibility Report (PFR) of the project proposal to the Project Appraisal Directorate of the Central Water Commission (CWC) on May 23, 2025. The PFR was then forwarded to KRMB, GRMB and co-basin states on June 11, for their comments, he wrote.
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