Harish casts doubts on govt’s intent to stall Banakacharla

Former Minister T Harish Rao on Tuesday questioned whether the Telangana government truly intends to stop the Banakacharla project, being constructed by Andhra Pradesh, or if it is simply misleading the public by issuing backdated letters.

In a letter dated September 23, 2025, Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil informed Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy that the Pre-Feasibility Report (PFR) of the Godavari–Banakacharla project has been submitted for techno-economic appraisal and that the permission process is underway.

Harish Rao pointed out that he had raised this issue publicly on October 11, during a press conference at Telangana Bhavan. Despite he highlighting the matter, Harish Rao said, the state government has not taken any concrete action or issued a clear response.

He criticised the Chief Minister for failing to send any letter to the Union Minister opposing the granting of permission to the illegal Banakacharla project, calling it a “clear betrayal of the people of Telangana.”

Despite the fact that the Andhra Pradesh government issued a tender notification for the DPR of the Banakacharla project on October 6, 2025, neither the Chief Minister nor the Irrigation Minister had taken any steps to write to the Union Minister objecting to this development.

Harish Rao also questioned why the Telangana Irrigation Secretary has not written to the Secretary of the Union Jal Shakti Ministry, even at this stage. He asked what was the purpose of sending a letter from the ENC to the Central Water Commission (CWC) with a backdated signature, when no real-time effort being made to prevent the illegal project.

While the Andhra Pradesh government is pushing forward with construction at full speed, the Congress-led Telangana government is trying to divert attention by releasing backdated letters, misleading the people. He alleged that the state government is deliberately remaining silent while Andhra Pradesh is attempting to divert Godavari waters under the guise of floodwaters through the illegal Banakacharla project.

Harish Rao said only Revanth Reddy can answer why his government has remained silent when the BJP government in Maharashtra, the TDP government in Andhra Pradesh, and the Congress government in Karnataka were all strategically acting to undermine Telangana’s share of both Krishna and Godavari waters.