Don’t play politics with water, Naidu urges TG
Amaravati: Amid a sharpening political confrontation over inter-state water sharing, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday urged Telangana’s leadership to refrain from politicising river water issues, asserting that surplus water flowing into the sea must be utilised cooperatively and not turned into a political flashpoint.
Responding to recent remarks by Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project (RLIS), and other related political developments in both Telugu states, Naidu cautioned against statements that could inflame tensions between the two Telugu states.
Speaking to the media after inspecting the Polavaram irrigation project works, Naidu stressed that water disputes should not be reduced to political one-upmanship. “The Telugu people are one. There must be a give-and-take attitude. Competing through provocative statements and playing with people’s emotions is not right,” he said, warning that public celebration of inter-state conflicts would only deepen divisions.
Asserting that the Godavari has abundant water, the Chief Minister said objections to downstream projects such as Polavaram were illogical. He recalled that during his earlier tenure, water was diverted from Jurala to Mahbubnagar when the RDS (Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme) project dried up and pointed out that projects like Devadula and Kalwakurthy were initiated to benefit Telangana. “We never objected to Devadula. If Telangana wants to expand it, who is stopping them?” he asked.
Naidu questioned the rationale behind opposing downstream utilisation, noting that water that flows downstream from the Devadula project would ultimately flow towards Polavaram. “When water was taken to Manjeera earlier, we welcomed it. Objecting to using water flowing downstream makes no sense,” he said, adding that conservation and interlinking of rivers would benefit both states.
Storing surplus Godavari water in reservoirs such as Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam, he said, would also help Telangana, while indiscriminate upstream projects during periods of Krishna water scarcity could be counterproductive.
Dismissing allegations surrounding the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project, Naidu said there was “no substance” in repeated claims and cautioned against attempts to turn misinformation into truth through repetition.
On Polavaram, the Chief Minister said construction of the new diaphragm wall would be completed by February 15, with Phase-I work targeted for completion by March 2027 to enable water release. He said the state was forced to incur an additional Rs 1,000 crore for the new diaphragm wall due to earlier lapses. Main dam works are nearing completion, embankment works are expected to finish by June, while ECRF gap-2 works are targeted for March next year. Rehabilitation and resettlement, he said, would be completed within a year.
Naidu said Polavaram would open up the country’s largest inland waterways and provide irrigation and drinking water connectivity through its right and left canals, including supply to Visakhapatnam city, Anakapalli and Visakhapatnam districts. He credited the Pattiseema lift irrigation scheme with stabilising the Krishna delta and enabling Godavari water to reach Rayalaseema, transforming the region into a horticulture hub.
Stating that the TDP government spent Rs 65,000 crore on irrigation between 2014 and 2019, including Rs 12,000 crore in Rayalaseema, Naidu said completing Polavaram at the earliest remained his top priority to ensure balanced development across Andhra Pradesh.
