HYDERABAD: Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Monday said he would personally attend the next hearing in the Supreme Court on petitions urging the apex court to direct central agencies to refrain from releasing funds for the Andhra Pradesh government’s Polavaram–Nallamalasagar project.
Reiterating Telangana’s stand, Uttam said the state government had opposed the project in every available forum. He was speaking to reporters during an informal interaction in his chamber at the state Legislative Assembly.
Affirming the government’s resolve, the minister said Telangana had formally written to the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB), the Polavaram Project Authority, the Central Water Commission (CWC), the Ministry of Environment and Forests, and the Ministry of Jal Shakti. In its representations, the state had argued that the project violates the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) Award of 1980 and the Interstate River Water Disputes Act, 1956. He claimed that all these institutions had endorsed Telangana’s position.
The minister also took a swipe at the previous BRS government, accusing it of “mishandling” water resources and causing substantial losses to the state.
Clarifying remarks made by BRS leader T Harish Rao, the minister said the letter cited in connection with the Polavaram–Nallamalasagar link project was merely an internal communication between CWC directors and did not amount to the Commission’s approval of the project.
He said: “The CWC wrote to us on December 4, 2025, upholding our stand.”
The minister pointed out that Telangana was not alone in opposing the project, noting that Maharashtra and Karnataka have also raised strong objections.
Outlining the state’s legal strategy, the Irrigation minister said Telangana would once again seek a stay from the Supreme Court during the next hearing on January 12. He added that another round of consultations with senior Supreme Court advocates would be held this week to fine-tune the state’s approach.
The minister also said the Telangana government was firmly opposing Andhra Pradesh’s Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (RLIS). “The RLIS works were stopped only after the Congress government came to power in Telangana,” he said, alleging that the earlier BRS regime failed to act in time.
“It was because of our pressure that the Andhra Pradesh government halted the RLIS works,” he asserted, accusing the BRS of neglecting effective management of Krishna and Godavari river waters. “During the BRS regime, there was a wide gap between words and deeds when it came to groundwork on Krishna–Godavari water issues,” the Irrigation minister added.