Sharing Of Krishna Waters: Revanth blames KCR for 'injustice' to TG

Hyderabad: Chief Minister Anumula Revanth Reddy on Thursday alleged that BRS president K Chandrashekar Rao was creating rift between the two Telugu states over sharing of the Krishna River waters to benefit his party politically and for his political survival. He accused the former chief minister and former Irrigation minister T Harish Rao of mortgaging the interests of Telangana by signing the paper accepting 299 TMCs of water from Krishna River.

Speaking after a power-point presentation on irrigation projects by Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy at Praja Bhavan here, the Chief Minister alleged that the signatures of KCR and Harish Rao became a ‘death warrant’ for Telangana when it came to the state’s legitimate share in Krishna waters.“Undivided Andhra Pradesh was allotted 811 TMCs of water from Krishna River.

When the state was divided, Telangana was wrongly allocated 299 TMCs, while AP walked away with 512 TMCs of Krishna waters. According to this, Telangana only got 34 per cent of Krishna waters while it should get 71 per cent as per the catchment area. As KCR and Harish Rao accepted 299 TMCs, the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) has been saying that Telangana will get that much only,” the Chief Minister explained.

The state government is moving forward strategically to achieve the state’s rightful share of 71 per cent instead of criticizing the neighboring state for the sake of political mileage, he said. The Chief Minister appealed to the Ministers, Congress MLAs to strongly present arguments in the Assembly on irrigation projects particularly on Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) project.

He made it clear that the government would place all the details in the House with proof. “KCR should come and take part in the debate. We will see to it that KCR will not be insulted in the house,” he said. The facts about fat commissions collected by those in the previous government should come out, he added.

Revanth Reddy further alleged that KCR changed the design of Palamuru-Rangareddy project for the sake of commissions. “KCR changed the location of lifting water from Jurala to Srisailam and increased three phases to five phases. He also enhanced the pumps from 22 to 37 and changed the estimations from Rs 32,500 to Rs 84,000 crore. However, it is not possible to complete the project even with Rs 84,000 crore with the changed design,” he said.

KCR and Harish Rao are speaking 24-carat lies on irrigation projects to strengthen the BRS party position, CM alleged. “Nothing wrong even if KCR and Harish Rao are hanged their wrongdoing. In Middle East countries, such people would have been stoned to death. We are moving democratically in as regards KCR and Harish Rao as we are a democratic nation,” he said.