Minister for Agriculture S. Niranjan Reddy has hit back at Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader M. Bhatti Vikramarka for his comments made during his ongoing ‘padayatra’ in the combined Mahabubnagar district and alleged that that it was the Congress that was a curse for the district for denying water for decades.
Stating that it was the Congress that had created hurdles in the progress of Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) by moving the green tribunal, Mr. Niranjan Reddy said on Wednesday that the BRS Government had taken the project forward to its present position in spite of facing hundreds of cases filed against it by Congress leaders and others.
Suggesting Mr. Vikramarka to speak after finding the current situation of the district compared to what it was in the Congress rule, the Minister blamed the Opposition party for migration and hunger deaths of the district in the past. However, reverse migration was taking place in the district now with those who migrated returning home and people from other States coming to the district for wage work (livelihoods).
He pointed out that it was during the Congress regime the plans to siphon off huge quantity of Krishna water through Pothireddypadu Head Regulator constructed for taking drinking water to Chennai for diverting the river water to non-basin areas at the cost of basin areas in Telangana parched lands and caused fluoride problem in drinking water.
It was the BRS Government that had planned to draw water to PRLIS from Srisailam reservoir with huge storage capacity against drawal from Jurala with 6 tmc ft capacity planned by the previous Congress government.
While the Congress had kept the progress of Jurala, Kalwakurthy, Bhima and Nettempadu lift irrigation projects, the BRS Government completed them to ensure water for irrigation to two crops in most of the areas of combined Mahabubnagar district. Even the ayacut under Jurala was getting water for entire ayacut after the formation of Telangana State.
Stating that Congress had no moral right to question the progress of PRLIS, Mr. Niranjan Reddy said it was the Centre that had to decide the water share of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in Krishna. However, no Congress MP had raised the issue in Parliament even once.
