TG govt amping up fight against AP's Banakacharla move: Uttam
Hyderabad: State Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy has said that the Telangana Government was intensifying its fight against Andhra Pradesh's proposed Godavari-Banakacharla Link Scheme and was determined to protect Telangana's water rights.
The Minister said that he had written multiple letters to the Centre, exposing serious violations by Andhra Pradesh and demanding immediate intervention. Andhra Pradesh had failed to obtain technical clearances from the Central Water Commission (CWC) and from the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB), Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) and the Apex Council, as mandated under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act (APRA) 2014. No project on inter-state rivers can proceed without these approvals. Andhra Pradesh is brazenly bypassing all statutory mechanisms, he added.
Andhra Pradesh misused Sections 46(2) and 46(3) of the APRA 2014 to seek funds from the Union Finance Ministry under the backward regions development clause, Uttam said in an information interaction with the media here on Friday. These sections cannot override Part IX of the Act, which deals with inter-state river water management, requiring technical clearance, inter-state consultations, and Apex Council approval before any project proceeds.
Andhra Pradesh had neither shared any proposal with the Telangana government nor provided any DPR or plans for scrutiny by the relevant boards. He noted that despite Andhra Pradesh's multiple letters to the Union Finance Ministry and the Ministry of Jal Shakti seeking funds, no DPR had been sent, and the ministries had merely forwarded Andhra Pradesh's letters to technical bodies like the GRMB, KRMB, and the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) for comments. This is not due process. It's an attempt to mislead the Centre and push the project without scrutiny.
The previous BRS government failed to safeguard Telangana's interests. During the united Andhra Pradesh era, Telangana's rightful share was 724 tmcft, but the BRS government signed agreements that reduced Telangana's share to 299 tmcft while allocating 512 tmcft to Andhra Pradesh.
This betrayal laid the groundwork for the current situation. 'They are acting like Goebbels Rao, repeating lies to cover up their betrayal. Even Goebbels himself would be shocked at the level of false propaganda they are spreading', he claimed.
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