Telangana Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao on Friday said Andhra Pradesh had no moral right to question the irrigation projects being taken up by Telangana for utilising its rightful share in the river waters.
He questioned the propriety of AP in complaining to the Centre against the rightful projects of Telangana, whereas several ongoing irrigation projects in its backyard were being executed without any clearances and permissions. He sought to know from his AP counterpart Devineni Umamaheswara Rao whether the GOs issued by the Combined AP on Dindi and Palamuru lift irrigation projects had no sanctity and were they issued only to deceive Telangana people.
Mr. Harish Rao, addressing a press conference here on Friday, reminded Mr. Umamaheswara Rao that it was the YSR Rajasekhara Reddy Government that had issued a GO (No.159) in 2007 for preparing a detailed project report (DPR) for utilisation of 30 TMC ft Krishna water and the previous N. Kiran Kumar Reddy Government had issued orders for a study to take up Palamuru lift irrigation scheme with 70 TMC ft of Krishna water.
The conspiracy of Seemandhra leaders to keep the lands of Telangana parched and keep the people here thirsty by opposing the rightful projects was very clear, he said. “Where are the clearances for projects like Handri-Neeva, Veligonda, Galeru-Nagari, Pothireddypadu and others and whether they were nearing completion with all permissions”, Mr. Harish Rao questioned.
Polavaram started without permission
Even the Polavaram Project, leave aside Pattiseema, works were taken up without getting clearances in advance and even the ones secured now were done overlooking the objections of neighbouring States, the Telangana leader pointed out. The upper riparian State (Telangana) would have the right to utilise 40 TMC ft of assured Krishna water with the construction of Polavaram-Pattiseema projects, he noted.
On the issue of clearances to Palamuru and Dindi, Mr. Harish Rao said the Government would get them in due course as the projects were within Krishna basin unlike the ones taken up by AP in other basins by taking up inter-basin transfer of Krishan water.The entire HMDA area was in the Krishna basin and it had every right to get water for drinking needs from the river, the Telangana Minister asserted.
Seeks support of TTDP leaders
He sought to know from Telangana TDP leaders Errabelli Dayakar Rao and L. Ramana whether they would support or oppose Palamuru and Dindi projects taken up to quench the thirst of Palamuru and fluoride-hit Nalgonda people and wet the parched lands of Mahabubnagar, whose labour force is found in the every project site across the country due to distress migration for livelihood.
Mr. Harish Rao alleged that the conspiracies of Andhra Pradesh leaders against industrial growth and quenching the thirst of people in Telangana were continuing even after division of the combined State as evindent in the fact that AP had denied Telangana its rightful share of power from some generating stations on the AP's soil.
“They refused to share power with an evil intention to keep investors away from Telangana”, he said.
