New Delhi [India], March 3 : Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has urged Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil to allocate a fair share of Krishna waters to Telangana.
He said the Krishna basin covered 70 per cent of Telangana and 30 per cent of Andhra Pradesh and appealed to Patil to allocate 70 per cent of Krishna water to Telangana.
The CM urged the Union Minister to decide on Andhra Pradesh projects only after finalizing Telangana's share in the River Godavari.
Revanth Reddy met Patil in the national capital on Monday evening, accompanied by State Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy.
The two leaders urged the Centre to safeguard the interests of Telangana in Krishna and Godavari river water sharing.
The two leaders also interacted with the media.
"Chief Minister Revanth Reddy brought to the attention of the Union Minister about the KRMB's (Krishna River Management Board) unilateral decision of allocating 66 per cent of water to Andhra Pradesh and 34 per cent to Telangana despite most of the Krishna river's catchment area covered in Telangana," a Telangana government release said.
Stating that Telangana had been "meted out injustice for years" and Andhra Pradesh was drawing water more than allocations this year also, the Chief Minister requested the Union Minister to ensure the Andhra Pradesh draws water not more than allocations in the future.
During the meeting, Revanth Reddy briefed Patil about the importance of installing Telemetry immediately to ascertain the utilization of water from the projects on river Krishna and the Telangana Government's readiness to bear the cost of the new system, if required.
He brought to the Union Minister's attention the submission of the DPR for the Palamuru-RangaReddy lift irrigation project to the Centre in 2022 and the delay in granting permission.
The Chief Minister informed the Union Minister that permissions have been given only for Upper Bhadra, which is in the jurisdiction of the courts and the required permission for Sitarama lift irrigation and Sammakka Sagar barrages has not been given. The Union Minister has been requested to grant necessary clearances from the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the Technical Advisory Board (TAC) for these three projects.
"The Chief Minister also informed the Jal Shakti minister that the Andhra Pradesh government designed Godavari-Banakachar interlinking project in violation of the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act and also not obtained any clearances from the Central Water Commission, Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) and KRMB for this project.," the release said.
He also called for finalising assured water share of Telangana in Godavari immediately.
"The CM reminded that Telangana will lose ayacut stabilization if the projects are not approved as the state already meted out injustice in Krishna waters by showing the ayacut in Krishna delta," the release said.
The Chief Minister explained to the Union Minister that the AP Godavari-Banakarla project has not been discussed in the Apex Council, of which the Chief Ministers of both states are members.
The release said the Chief Minister made it clear to the Union Minister that the Telangana government will not compromise on the issue of protecting Telangana's water resources.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said telemetry equipment should be installed in Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar and other projects in the Krishna River.
"The previous government in Telangana neglected it for ten years. If necessary, we said that we will also bear the cost of Telangana and Andhra's share. The Union Minister responded positively to this proposal. We have requested that Telangana be given a long-term interest-free loan for 50 years from the India Infrastructure Fund. We have requested that the NDSA - National Dam Safety Authority submit a report on Medigadda and Sundilla projects quickly," he said.
"The Chief Minister and I have strongly voiced our argument to the Centre regarding Telangana's water resources. We have requested that the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal complete the long-awaited investigation quickly," he added.
The Chief Minister appealed to Patil to provide adequate financial assistance under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) for Palamuru-Ranga Reddy, Sitarama Lift Irrigation Scheme, Modi Kunta Vagu, Chanaka Korata Barrage (Distribution System), Chinna Kaleshwaram (Mukteshwar) Lift Irrigation Schemes and also financial assistance under PMRP 2024.
The Chief Minister also urged the Union Minister to provide interest-free loans to Telangana for 50 years under infrastructure development for irrigation projects. Since the government is planning to take up the construction of the project at Tummidihatti under the Pranahita-Chevella project, the Chief Minister requested the Union Minister to help get permission from the Maharashtra government on the submergence.