HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is learnt to have told Congress MLAs and MLCs that the state government will withhold handing over irrigation projects on the Krishna River to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) until Telangana’s water share is clearly delineated.
Revanth, who is also the TPCC president, urged the legislators to effectively communicate the party’s stance to the public, especially in response to the “false narratives” propagated by the opposition BRS.
The Chief Minister was speaking during a closed-door orientation program on the Irrigation department, KRMB, Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) and related issues for Congress legislators at the Jyotirao Phule Praja Bhavan on Sunday.
This orientation for the grand old party’s legislators on the subject of irrigation was conducted a day before the state government presented a white paper on the Irrigation department. It also coincides with the BRS’ plan of holding a massive public meeting in Nalgonda, which is scheduled for Tuesday, alleging that the newly formed Congress government has transferred common irrigation projects on the Krishna River to the KRMB.
The previous BRS government agreed to a 299 tmcft of water share for Telangana, compared to 512 tmcft for neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. The Congress has been advocating the reallocation of water resources among the states through which the Krishna river flows.
Revanth also reportedly informed the party MLAs and MLCs that a couple of resolutions will be passed in the Assembly, one of which declares that the state government will withhold the handover of irrigation projects to the KRMB, and another demanding the Centre to withdraw central armed forces from the Nagarjuna Sagar project.
Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy made a detailed presentation, covering intricate details such as water availability in the perennial Krishna and Godavari rivers, water sharing among different states, GOs issued by previous Congress and BRS governments and minutes of KRMB meetings. The presentation lasted for over two hours.
Addressing the media later, Congress Whip Beerla Ilaiah said that they will explain the baseless allegations made by the BRS and expose it before the people ahead the proposed public meeting in Nalgonda on February 13. He added that the people will teach a befitting lesson to the BRS if the pink party tries to exploit their sentiments for political gains.
It’s worth noting that although the Congress intended to release the white paper during the first Assembly session, which was held soon after the grand old party assumed power in the state, it decided to conduct a detailed study to identify lapses in the KLIS.