Centre calls meeting of Telangana, Andhra CMs on river water disputes

Hyderabad, July 14 The Centre has called a meeting of the chief ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in Delhi on July 16 over river water sharing disputes.

The Centre has invited Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart, N. Chandrababu Naidu, to meet in the presence of Union Jal Shakti Minister C. R. Patil.

The Union Minister has asked both the chief ministers to communicate their availability for the meeting.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister is visiting Delhi on July 15 and 16. As per the itinerary, he is scheduled to meet C. R. Patil at 2.30 p.m. on July 16.

Meanwhile, a statement from the Telangana Chief Minister’s Office said a meeting is scheduled with the Union Jal Shakti Minister in Delhi on the 16th of this month, where Telangana will strongly pursue its water share, seek approvals for ongoing projects, push for allocations, and demand clearances for new projects.

According to the statement, Revanth Reddy has decided to ensure the optimal utilisation of every drop of water due to the state from the Krishna and Godavari rivers and to intensify pressure on the Central Government to secure Telangana’s rightful share of river waters through legal means.

He has resolved to urge the Central Government to immediately grant clearances for projects in Telangana on the Krishna River, allocate Telangana’s fair share of water, and provide financial assistance for the construction of these projects. Along with protecting Telangana’s interests in the Krishna and Godavari waters, the Chief Minister has directed that long-standing injustices be addressed through permanent solutions.

On the Chief Minister’s instructions, Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy has written a letter to Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil.

Telangana has faced prolonged injustice in the utilisation of Krishna River waters. The previous government accepted a mere 299 TMCs for Telangana, while conceding 512 TMCs to Andhra Pradesh. It remained silent while Andhra Pradesh illegally constructed projects upstream of Srisailam, diverted Krishna waters at will, and encroached on Telangana’s rightful share, said the statement.

Irrigation projects constructed during the undivided state on the Krishna River were left incomplete, without proper water allocations. On the Godavari side, the Pranahita-Chevella project undertaken near Tummidihatti, after spending Rs 11,000 crore, was shelved. Instead, the Kaleshwaram Project was constructed, leading to the misuse of over Rs 1 lakh crore of public funds, it added.

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