Hyderabad: State Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister Capt N Uttam Kumar Reddy accused BRS leaders of spreading falsehoods to defame the Congress government, calling his allegations a desperate attempt to mislead the public. He also blamed the previous BRS government for failing to protect Telangana’s water rights and causing massive financial and structural damage to the irrigation sector.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, along with Ministers Komatireddy Venkatreddy and Ponnam Prabhakar, Uttam Kumar Reddy ridiculed BRS leaders’ criticism of the Congress government. He said, "BRS leaders are repeatedly lying to cover up the failures of the BRS regime. The irrigation sector under BRS was riddled with scams and irregularities. The BRS government borrowed over Rs 1 lakh crore for the Kaleshwaram project, which was plagued by faulty design, poor construction, and zero maintenance. The Medigadda barrage, which BRS described as the ‘heart of Kaleshwaram,’ collapsed during their own rule, and instead of admitting failure, KCR, Harish Rao and other BRS leaders shamelessly claim that only one pillar collapsed."

Uttam Kumar Reddy revealed that the BRS government spent Rs 1.81 lakh crore on irrigation projects but failed to achieve significant ayacut expansion. The funds were acquired through high-interest, short-term loans, placing a huge financial burden on Telangana. Despite spending Rs 27,000 crore on the Palamuru-Rangareddy Project and Rs 9,000 crore on the Sitarama Lift Irrigation Project, not a single acre of land received irrigation water. Long-pending projects like Devadula, Kalwakurthy, Nettampadu, Bhima, Koyal Sagar, SLBC, and Dindi remained incomplete. The Kaleshwaram Project alone, which consumed nearly Rs 1 lakh crore, delivered minimal ayacut and suffered structural failures, he added.

He stated that the Congress government is working to rectify these issues by prioritising the completion of pending projects and securing Telangana’s water rights. The allocation of 67 tmcft of Godavari River water for the Sitarama Lift Irrigation Project has been expedited, and discussions are ongoing to secure 44 tmcft for the Sammaka Sarakka project. Secretary-level talks with Chhattisgarh for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) on the Sammaka Sarakka project have already been held.

Additionally, the government is contesting the unfair Krishna River water allocation of 299 tmcft to Telangana and 512 tmcft to Andhra Pradesh.

"Under KCR’s leadership, Telangana suffered injustice in water sharing. Water allocation is based on factors like catchment area, drought-prone regions, population, and cultivable land, yet Telangana was deprived of its rightful share," he said.

To monitor AP’s withdrawals, the Congress government has requested the Centre to install telemetry instruments at 35 locations in Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam Dams. He also condemned the previous BRS regime for not installing telemetry instruments during its 10-year rule.