Telangana urges MoJS Secretary not to take up appraisal of PBLP
The Telangana government has requested the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) not to undertake appraisal of pre-feasibility report of the Polavaram-Banakacherla Link Project (PBLP) since it is in violation of the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal Award, Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act and Polavaram Project Authority, infringing upon the water rights of Telangana.
When the Environmental Clearance granted to the Polavaram project itself has issues of violation and a case is pending in the Supreme Court, which had directed the Centre on September 6, 2022 to address the issues by calling for a meeting of all the stakeholders, it would not be in the interests of natural justice if appraisal of PBLP is taken up, Principal Secretary (Irrigation) of Telangana Rahul Bojja said in a five-page letter addressed to the MoJS Secretary Debashree Mukherjee.
He noted that Telangana Minister for Irrigation Uttam Kumar Redddy had requested Union Minister of Jal Shakti to direct the Central Water Commission to reject the PFR under review and also objected to the stand of Additional Secretary, Ministry of Finance, at the June 2 meeting with the AP officials to submit the detailed project report. Mr. Uttam Reddy also wrote to the Minister of Environment and Forests not to take up the appraisal of PBLP. Besides, letters were also addressed by authorities of the Irrigation Department to MoEF and PPA.
Listing out the comments of Telangana on the PFR, the Principal Secretary stated that PBLP contemplates stabilisation of 9.14 lakh hectares (nearly 22.59 lakh acres) and new ayacut of another 3 lakh hectares (over 7.41 lakh acres), all in the Krishna and Penna Basins in Rayalaseema and South Coastal Andhra regions. He brought to the MoJS Secretary's notice that there is no clause in the GWDT Award for allocating floodwater among the basin States.
Further, he noted, it is explicitly stated that if there is to be any change in the operation schedule as indicated in the inter-State agreement it shall be made only after consultation with the States of erstwhile AP (now Telangana), Chhattisgarh and Odisha, as the PBLP contemplates diversion of 200 tmcft water from Polavaram project and it would require changes in the operation protocol of the project – changes scope of the project too.
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