HYDERABAD: Echoing the views of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday too suggested a give-and-take approach among stakeholder states to resolve interstate water disputes amicably. He said river water issues should be settled through discussions.
Addressing a meeting after inaugurating the Suzen Medicare Pvt Ltd unit at Maheshwaram, Revanth said Telangana was open to dialogue with stakeholder states, particularly sibling state Andhra Pradesh.
“Debates have been taking place over water disputes in recent days in AP and Telangana. I am suggesting to AP politicians that when anyone asks me whether I want water or trouble, I say I want water. If asked whether I want disputes or solutions, I seek solutions. Under the guise of water disputes, neither my government nor my party wants to derive political mileage. Sonia Gandhi granted separate Telangana to permanently resolve water disputes between the two sibling states,” Revanth said.
Deriving political mileage out of water disputes was not correct, he added, stressing that such issues should be resolved on apolitical lines.
“Dialogue is the only solution. Court cases or meetings with others are not the right way to resolve disputes. Let us sit together and resolve our issues. This is our policy,” the chief minister said, addressing his AP counterpart.
Recalling that projects such as the Palamuru–Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme, Kalwakurthy, Dindi, SLBC, Bheema and Nettempadu on the Krishna river were approved before bifurcatino, Revanth appealed to Naidu not to create obstacles and to cooperate with Telangana in securing the remaining permissions.
We don’t want disputes, we prefer mutual cooperation: CM
“We are facing problems in securing environmental clearances and Central Water Commission approvals for these projects due to objections raised by the AP government,” he said.
The chief minister added that pending clearances were hampering Telangana’s efforts to obtain bank loans and 60% financial assistance from the Union government under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme, placing a heavy financial burden on the State.
“Please cooperate with us. I will also think positively if you have any problems. I am not seeking disputes. I am seeking a permanent solution. This is not political interest; it is in the interest of the people and farmers,” Revanth said.
Stating that several companies were willing to set up data centres in Telangana, he said such facilities required power and water, making diversion of Krishna river water necessary.
“We do not have port connectivity. We are laying a 12-lane expressway with railway connectivity to Machilipatnam port in AP and have sought permission from the Centre. For development, we need cooperation from neighbouring states. Likewise, AP needs Hyderabad’s cooperation for the development of Amaravati, its capital. Merely constructing buildings is not enough to build a city. It requires skilled manpower and industrialists, who are based in Hyderabad. Therefore, both states should continue the give-and-take policy. We will continue dialogue with the neighbouring state,” he said.
He added, “We do not want disputes with neighbouring states, whether Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu or Maharashtra. We seek mutual cooperation and dialogue to find long-lasting solutions.”
He also said, “If you move one step forward positively, Telangana will take 10 steps forward. It is in our blood.”
On Wednesday, Naidu, addressing a meeting at Polavaram, called for states to adopt a give-and-take policy. He said there would be no problem even if Telangana expanded the Devadula project, while questioning whether it was fair to object to AP utilising Godavari waters through the Polavaram project.