HYDERABAD: The detailed project reports (DPRs) of three important projects proposed by Telangana government on the Godavari river were supposed to be approved in the crucial meeting of Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) scheduled here on Friday. However, the Andhra Pradesh Irrigation officials skipped the meeting.
As the AP officials were absent, there was no quorum for Friday’s meeting and the meeting was postponed to a later date. According to sources, the GRMB meeting was expected to discuss the DPRs of three projects of Telangana - Chanaka-Korata, Choutupalli Hanumanth Reddy, and Chinna Kaleshwaram projects.
On March 11 also, GRMB meeting was postponed due to lack of quorum. “The Andhra Pradesh officials skipped the meeting in order to delay the approvals for the irrigation projects of Telangana. If there is no quorum in the next meeting too, then there will be no other option for the GRMB but to accept the projects of Telangana,” an official said.
However, GRMB member and Telangana Engineer-in-Chief C Muralidhar requested the GRMB Chairman on Friday to convene the next meeting at the earliest. The GRMB Chairman said that the date of the next meeting would be communicated at the earliest. Apart from approvals for the three DPRs of Telangana, budget issues of GRMB are to be resolved.
Speaking to the media later, Irrigation Special Chief Secretary Rajat Kumar said that the AP officials intentionally skipped the GRMB meeting. As the AP officials did not turn up, the permissions for the Telangana projects were getting delayed, he said. He hoped that all Telangana projects would get approvals by July.