HYDERABAD: Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Tuesday threatened the Andhra Pradesh government that Telangana would construct a barrage at Pedda Maroor near Alampur on Krishna river if AP goes ahead with the construction of illegal projects like Pothireddypadu. Further, Telangana would use the barrage to draw three tmcft water on a daily basis, Rao warned.
“We will construct a barrage on Krishna like Maharashtra constructed Babli on Godavari,” a combative Chandrasekhar Rao said at the Apex Council meeting on Tuesday. His plan to construct the barrage near Alampur is a strategic location as it is upstream of Srisailam project. Diversion of Krishna water from this point would decrease the volume of water that reaches Srisailam. “If Andhra Pradesh continues to deny justice to us as it did in the combined AP rule, the TRS government will not take it lying down but will retaliate. We are ready to protect the interests of our farmers,” Rao told the Jal Shakti Minister and the AP Chief Minister in the meeting.
Rao, who was assisted by a battery of officials, made Telangana’s stand on river waters crystal clear to the Union Minister and his AP counterpart. Recalling that the formation of Telangana was the result of the injustice done to the region in the combined AP, he said: “When a new State is formed in the country, it has every right to get its due share in river waters. We will get our share in river waters, which we lost in combined AP.” He expressed his displeasure at the Andhra Pradesh government continuing with the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme despite repeated requests no to do so.
“Right from the beginning of Telangana movement, the TRS opposed the Pothireddypadu,” he said. Recalling that the State government wrote a letter on July 14, 2014 to the Centre, asking it to set up a new Tribunal to resolve the water disputes, he said: “The Centre failed to take any decision so far. That’s why the TS filed a case in the Supreme Court.” While demanding the Centre to give fresh terms of reference to Brijesh Kumar Tribunal for making project-wise allocations, he suggested that the waters of a river should be diverted to another rive basin only after the requirements of the people of the first river basin are fulfilled. He said that AP had no right to divert the Krishna waters to another river basin.
The Jal Shakti and KRMB too endorsed his view on inter-basin diversion of waters, according to a release from the CMO. Rao said that the ongoing projects in Telangana are not new and they were sanctioned in the combined AP. “The projects on Godavari utilised the TS’ share of 967.94 tmcft water only,” Rao said. He also assured that if the Centre decided to resolve the water disputes between the two states, then Telangana would cooperate fully with the Centre.
CM asks Ministry to record proceedings
KCR asked the Jal Shakti Minister to release the minutes of the Apex Council only after obtaining their signatures. He also wanted it to record the proceedings of the meeting. If the water disputes are resolved, then TS would get more share in Krishna river waters, Rao felt