HYDERABAD:Ahead of the meeting of the chief engineers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments on Monday to resolve the river water sharing issue between both states, Telangana government’s adviser (irrigation) R Vidyasagar Rao has charged the AP government with making irrational arguments and playing the ‘victim card’.
Speaking to reporters here on Sunday, he said the TS government would lodge a complaint with the representatives of the Union water resources ministry who will be visiting Hyderabad in a couple of days to take stock of the situation. Although it appeared that both states were burying the hatchet when irrigation officials from two sides met on Saturday to discuss the issue of release of water from the Nagarjuna Sagar dam into the right branch canal to address the irrigation needs of Guntur district, the bonhomie did not last long.
Renewing the fight against the AP government, former chief engineer of the Central Water Commission (CWC) fired fresh salvos against the former at the behest of the Telangana government.
Citing Clause XV of the Bachawat Tribunal, he said the Telangana government had right over 88.60 tmcft of water available from Jurala, Bheema, Dindi and Kotipally Vagu among other small projects. However, he said, the TS government did not utilise 78 tmcft of the share and wanted to store the same in the Nagarjuna Sagar left canal to utilise it in the Rabi season. The move was being opposed by the AP government, he added. “The AP govt’s arguments are irrational. The Telangana govt has every right to take a call on how to utilise the waters allocated to it. AP govt has no say on this,” he asserted.