Hyderabad:Irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Friday said the Telangana government was intensifying its fight against the Godavari-Banakacharla link project taken up by the AP government, and would not hesitate to approach the Supreme Court to stop the neighbouring state from going ahead with the project.Uttam Kumar Reddy, during a chat with reporters, said the state government is determined to protect Telangana’s water rights. “Union jal shakti minister C.R. Patil, in his reply on May 28 to our letter on how AP was going ahead with the project in violation of all laws, and river water-sharing (pacts), has assured that ‘appropriate action will be taken’ in accordance with existing guidelines, Tribunal awards, and inter-state agreements and various provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said.Denying claims by BRS leaders who were accusing the government of inaction, Uttam Kumar Reddy said the state government, including himself and irrigation department officials, had written 13 letters to the Centre, and other agencies, as part of efforts to stop AP from going ahead with the project.Uttam Kumar Reddy also called on the eight BJP MPs from Telangana, among them Union ministers G. Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay Kumar, to take up AP’s violations with the Banachakarla project with the Centre. “We already wrote to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman urging her to stop plans for the Centre to fund the project, and to Patil highlighting the violations by the Andhra Pradesh government. We hope that the Centre will follow the law as it is not expected to support Andhra Pradesh illegally,” he said.“We will fight in every possible way for Telangana’s rightful share of water. We will not back down,” he said.Andhra Pradesh, he said, had not submit any detailed project report so far, and had no statutory permissions from any agency, including Central Water Commission, Godavari and Krishna river management boards. He said the Banakacharla project violated the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal awards. “No project on inter-state rivers can proceed without these approvals. Andhra Pradesh is brazenly bypassing all statutory mechanisms,” he said.Uttam Kumar Reddy pointed out that the BRS, whose government repeatedly wrote away Telangana’s share of Krishna water by agreeing to just 299 tmc ft as Telangana’s share while approving 512 tmc ft for Andhra Pradesh. “This was agreed to by then chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao. The AP government is now using this to its advantage. After the Congress party came to power, we opposed this and have been working to get Telangana’s rightful share of Krishna water,” he said.InfogrpahUttam Kumar Reddy says:Telangana will fight AP on its Godavari-Banakacharla project.13 letters written to Centre, Union ministers, CWC, GRMB among others opposing AP’s project.Jal shakti minister C.R. Patil has assured Telangana he would take ‘appropriate action’ on AP’s project.Banakacharla does not have any statutory clearances, no detailed project report so far.Centre must not allow the project, just because TD supports BJP government.
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