Latest news with #GWDT-1980
Time of India
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Godavari-Banakacherla row: Revanth Reddy hints at moving SC; Centre may call Apex Council meet soon with him & Chandrababu Naidu
HYDERABAD: With tensions escalating between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh over the proposed Godavari-Banakacherla link project, the Centre is likely to convene an Apex Council meeting soon, bringing both chief ministers to the table to resolve the contentious water sharing dispute. The Apex Council-last convened in Oct 2020-is headed by Union jal shakti minister CR Patil. CM A Revanth Reddy and irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, who met Patil in Delhi on Thursday, said the Union minister had assured them that the meeting would be held soon. During the hour-long meeting, Revanth made it clear that Telangana would not compromise on its water interests under any circumstances. He conveyed to the minister that while the state was open to resolving disputes through dialogue, it would approach the Supreme Court if the Centre's actions were not in Telangana's favour. Revanth proposed an alternative plan, stating that if AP truly believed surplus water was available in the Godavari, the Centre could consider linking the Icchampally-Nagarjuna Sagar route to lift water to the Penna basin, instead of Polavaram-Banakacherla. This, he said, could be centrally funded. The CM also urged the Centre to expedite the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II verdict. The CM urged Patil to intervene and halt all works initiated by the AP govt on the Banakacherla project, and to reject the pre-feasibility report submitted by AP on the link project. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Scam Exposed: What They Won't Tell You about zero trust! Expertinspector Click Here Undo Revanth and Uttam argued that the Banakacherla project violates the interests of Telangana, as well as the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (1980) and the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014. They expressed concern over how the Union finance ministry and environment ministry appeared to be fast-tracking approvals for AP's projects while neglecting Telangana's. Revanth said AP's claim of basing the Banakacherla project on Godavari floodwaters had no legal or technical standing. "There is no mention of floodwaters or surplus waters in the GWDT-1980," he said, arguing that the entire project lacks regulatory grounding. Revanth reminded the Union minister that as per the Reorganisation Act, new inter-state projects must first be cleared by the Godavari River Management Board, Central Water Commission, and the Apex Council. "The AP govt violated mandatory procedures and is going ahead with project. Their claim that project is based on floodwaters is not only misleading but has no statutory support," he said. Uttam said Patil responded positively and confirmed that his ministry had not received any detailed project report related to Banakacherla from AP so far.
Hindustan Times
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Reject pre-feasibility report on river linking: T'gana CM to Centre
Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday appealed to Union Jal Shakti minister CR Patil to reject the pre-feasibility report of the Godavari-Banakacharla project proposed by the Andhra Pradesh government seeking to divert Godavari waters to the Krishna basin, an official statement read. The chief minister, along with state irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy met with the union minister, apart from Union secretary Debashree Mukherjee and other senior officials of the ministry at Shramshakti Bhavan in Delhi. An official statement from the chief minister's office (CMO) said Revanth Reddy briefed the union minister about how the Godavari-Banakacharla project was against the interests of Telangana state. He said the Andhra Pradesh government was taking up the project in contravention of the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal-1980 (GWDT) and the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. The chief minister said though the Andhra Pradesh government was claiming that the project was based on flood waters of Godavari, there was no mention of flood waters or surplus waters in the GWDT-1980. Reddy reminded that according to the 2014 AP Reorganization Act, if a new project is to be built in any state, it must first be discussed and approved by the Godavari River Management Board, Central Water Commission (CWC) and the Apex Council headed by the Union Jal Shakti minister and the chief ministers of the two states. 'Andhra Pradesh violated all these important issues and was proceeding with efforts to construct the project,' he complained and appealed to the Centre to stop all works being undertaken as part of the Godavari-Banakacharla project. Revanth Reddy also told Patil that the Telangana government was ready for talks to discuss lifting of water to Penna basin by linking Icchampally – Nagarjuna Sagar, which will be funded by Centre, instead of Polavaram – Banakacharla, if Andhra Pradesh really believes there was any flood water in river Godavari. He also explained to the union minister about the change of Polavaram designs as per the GDWT -1980 regulations and works being carried out in violation of the environmental clearances despite objections being raised. He requested the union minister that the central government should pay attention to ensuring no violation of regulations took place while constructing the Polavaram national project. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu said it was not proper on the part of the Telangana government to create hurdles in his government's attempt to utilise flood waters of Godavari, which was otherwise going waste into the sea. Speaking to reporters at Amaravati, Naidu said both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were utilising Godavari waters as per their requirements. 'In fact, except Polavaram major irrigation project, all the other projects built by the two states had no permission from the Centre,' he said. He said Andhra Pradesh had never objected to the Telangana constructing projects on Godavari river like Kaleshwaram which is in violation of the tribunal award. 'There is plenty of water in Godavari and no project will affect the interests of other states. Any disputes can be resolved through dialogue across the table,' Naidu said.
Hans India
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Banakacharla project: TG lodges plaint with Jal Shakti Minister against AP
New Delhi/Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Thursday lodged a complaint with Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil against Andhra Pradesh and warned of legal action if the AP government failed to halt the controversial Banakacharla project. During the meeting with the Union Minister, the Chief Minister requested him to reject the pre-feasibility report of the Godavari-Banakacharla project proposed by the AP government. He asserted that the proposed Banakacharla project was against the interests of Telangana and that AP envisaged the project contrary to the provisions of the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal-1980 (GWDT) and the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act-2014. The Chief Minister pointed out that AP claimed the Banakacharla project would utilize flood waters of Godavari, but there was no mention of flood waters or surplus waters in GWDT-1980. According to the 2014 AP Reorganization Act, if a new project is to be built in any of the two states, it must first be discussed and approved by the Godavari River Management Board, the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the Apex Council headed by the Jal Shakti Minister and the Chief Ministers of the two states, CM Revanth Reddy pointed out and added that AP violated all these important aspects and was going ahead with the project. The AP government's claim that it undertook the project based on flood waters was wholly objectionable because no such rule was permitted, the Chief Minister said. Further, Revanth Reddy brought to the notice of CR Patil that AP took up Purushothapatnam, Venkatanagaram, Pattiseema and Chintalapudi Lift Irrigation Projects under Polavaram by utilizing flood waters without obtaining permission from the Technical Advisory Board in the CWC and claimed no violation of the regulations in the construction of the Polavaram project. Revanth Reddy and Uttam Kumar Reddy also told CR Patil that the Telangana government was ready for talks to discuss lifting of water to Penna basin by linking Icchampally–Nagarjuna Sagar, which could be funded by the Centre, instead of Polavaram–Banakacharla, if the AP really believed that there was flood water in the Godavari. They also pleaded with the Union Minister to ensure that the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-2 verdict was issued soon. The Jal Shakti Minister was requested to issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for Telangana to utilize 1,000 TMC of water from river Godavari and 500 TMC of Krishna water -- a total of 1500 TMC -- with the approval of the Union government. Stating that 1,500 TMC of water would provide irrigation to 1.50 crore acres in Telangana, the Chief Minister said that his government would not oppose the AP projects if their demands were met. The Chief Minister decried that the Centre was granting permissions to the projects taken up by the Andhra Pradesh government expeditiously, while neglecting Telangana's projects. He requested the Centre to grant all permissions, along with water allocations, to the Palamuru-Ranga Reddy, Sammakka-Sarakka and Thummidihetti projects. Allocation of central funds to the Musi rejuvenation project was also discussed at the meeting. The Chief Minister appealed to Patil to consider the state government's request for funds and release them just as the Centre supported Ganga and Yamuna cleaning projects. Speaking to newsmen after the meeting, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the Union Minister responded positively to the requests made by the CM and him. The Union Minister also clarified that his ministry had not received the DPR related to Banakacharla and assured that the Apex Council meeting would be held soon.
