Telangana, AP spar over water sharing

​Hyderabad: After a gap of one year, a fresh war of words over the construction of irrigation projects has begun between the ministers and leaders of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

In 2015, both the governments indulged in slugfest over the construction of the Dindi irrigation project in Nalgonda district.

Telangana Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao on Tuesday said that the irrigation projects being mentioned by the AP government were not new ones. “They (AP government) say all these are new projects.

They are saying these projects are being built without taking permissions. But all these projects were launched in the undivided Andhra Pradesh. TS government had made it amply clear that it will be utilising only the water that was allocated to the region during the united AP regime,” he said.

Accusing Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and YSRCP chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy of hatching conspiracies against Telangana irrigation projects, Cinematography Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav said no force on earth could prevent the Telangana State from completing its projects.

He said the AP cabinet had resolved to move the Supreme Court only as part of its dirty political game. “Did AP get permission from the Centre for Pattiseema,” he asked. Even the Opposition YSRCP was indulging in dirty politics and organising protests against TS projects, he alleged.

Law Minister A Indrakaran Reddy said Telangana State was entitled to get 1,350 tmcft water as per the previous GO. The minister sought to know why the TD regime was getting nervous when Telangana State wanted to use its rightful share of water.

Indrakaran alleged that TDP’s efforts to spike the project would not fructify as the government was committed to complete them. “We will not tolerate any mischievous efforts against our Chief Minister,” he said.

Another minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy even if AP government goes to court it would not be successful as the government was strictly following the directives of the Krishna water tribunal by utilising the water that was duly allocated to Telangana.

Stating that the Telangana government was constructing projects based on the water allocations made to the state, TRS MP B Suman on Tuesday said that even 1,000 Chandrababu Naidus cannot stop the irrigation projects in Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao was trying to irrigate the barren lands in Telangana, he said.

Reacting to this, Andhra Pradesh Irrigation Minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao said that the government would take all steps to protect the rights and interests of the farmers in AP.

Speaking to media persons at Janampeta village in Pedavegi Mandal in West Godavari District, Rao said the upper states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana were constructing irrigation project across Godavari and Krishna causing severe loss to Andhra Pradesh farmers.

TDP senior leader Gali Muddukrishnama Naidu alleged the TRS government was going ahead with the projects without prior permission from the Central Water Resources Ministry.

He said that he failed to understand why KCR was soft on Maharashtra and Karnataka which were constructing several projects illegally.

KCR, he said, was treating Telugu people as his enemies and people of Karnataka and Maharashtra as friends. However, the TTDP leaders are learnt to have told Naidu that they should write a letter to the Centre and leave the matter to it instead of getting into war of words over the issue.