The State government should take immediate steps to stop construction of unauthorised irrigation projects on Krishna and Godavari Rivers by Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana and ensure availability of adequate water in the two rivers for farmers of the State, said members of various farmers’ organisations.
In a resolution passed at a meeting of the Bharathiya Kissan Sangh and the Andhra Pradesh Raithanga Samakya (APRS), farmer leaders said governments in these the three States had been executing several irrigation projects to pilfer water.
APRS president Yerneni Nagendranath said Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana were constructing the projects without permission or authorised allocation of water.
If these projects and schemes are completed, lakhs of acres in Andhra Pradesh will go dry, he warned. Mr. Nagendranath said the State government should expedite completion of the pending projects, particularly Handri-Niva, Galeru-Nagari and Velugoda projects that would be a boon to farmers of the State.
He said the tardy progress of Polavaram project raised several doubts in the minds of people. “The Central and State governments should ensure that the project is completed by 2018,” he urged. Farmers’ associations sought that the Central and State governments release Rs. 1,120 crore input subsidy already sanctioned to farmers.
