Cong govt will not allow Banakacharla project

Warangal: IrrigationMinister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Saturday asserted that the Congress government would not permit construction of controversial Banakacharla project by AP government under any circumstances.

He said the State has opposed the project through every channel - including direct communication and written objections to the Centre.

Speaking to reporters in Hanamkonda, Uttam said the Revanth Reddy-led Congress government is committed to protecting Telangana’s rightful share in Krishna and Godavari river waters. Telangana had formally conveyed its objections on the Banakacharla project to Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil. “Telangana, Maharashtra and other co-basin states have opposed it. Yet Harish Rao claims otherwise. His statements are completely false”, he added.

Besides, the Minister reiterated that Telangana would not support the proposal to raise the Almatti dam height by Karnataka government. “For us, Telangana’s water rights come first - irrespective of which party rules the neighbouring Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh or Maharashtra states”, he added.

Earlier, senior BRS leader T Harish Rao warned about the impending dangers posed by the illegal Banakacharla project being undertaken by Andhra Pradesh. The BRs leader accused both the BJP-led Centre and the Congress government in Telangana of negligence and complicity.

The concerns raised earlier by BRS about the illegal Banakacharla project are now turning out to be true, he said that the project, being constructed by Andhra Pradesh, is poised to become a grave threat to Telangana. The AP government, with the active cooperation of the BJP at the Centre, was moving ahead by clearing all hurdles to the project’s execution. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and the Telangana government are behaving as if nothing is happening silently supporting AP’s actions.

The Andhra Pradesh government had already issued a Rs 9 crore tender for the preparation of the Banakacharla DPR.

Shockingly, the design outlined in Page 79 of the tender document states that 23,000 cusecs will be diverted through the Polavaram Right Main Canal when its actual approved capacity is only 11,500 cusecs. This is a blatant violation of the approved DPR and national norms. Yet the Centre remains silent, Harish explained.