
HYDERABAD: Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Tuesday described the decision of the Expert Appraisal Committee of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change to return a proposal by Andhra Pradesh on the Banakacherla link project as a “huge victory for Telangana”.
Uttam made a detailed PowerPoint presentation on “The Water Issues of Telangana in Godavari and Krishna River Basins” at Praja Bhavan on Tuesday.
During his presentation, he said that the Congress government will not compromise on Telangana’s rightful share of waters in the Godavari and Krishna rivers. He said the previous BRS regime had mortgaged Telangana’s interests and allowed Andhra Pradesh to push ahead with schemes like the Godavari-Banakacherla (G-B) link project because of its “compromised approach”.
The Irrigation minister further said that the Congress government cited multiple legal violations, including disregard for the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) award, which allocated flood and surplus waters among co-basin states.
He pointed out that the Environmental Clearance (EC) for Polavaram was granted in 2005 for a different project scope, and any large-scale diversion like the G-B project would require fresh environmental assessment under EIA rules. “We made it crystal clear — Telangana will not allow its hard-earned and historically legitimate rights to be usurped,” he said.
Uttam informed the gathering that due to these sustained and technically backed objections, the Expert Appraisal Committee of the Union ministry of Environment, which met on June 30, decided to return the proposal submitted by AP.
The proposal was sent back without granting even Terms of Reference (ToR), effectively blocking any environment clearance at this stage. “This is a huge victory for Telangana, because once ToR is granted, AP would have claimed it as an official green light,” he noted.
The minister stressed that this success was not accidental but the result of persistent follow-up by the chief minister, ministers and officials, who repeatedly met the Union Jal Shakti minister and the MoEF&CC to present Telangana’s legitimate concerns.
“We will not rest until every right of Telangana on its share of Godavari and Krishna waters is fully protected. Our farmers, our drinking water security, our future irrigation potential — everything depends on defending these river rights, and the Congress government is fully committed to this mission,” he asserted.