Telangana, which gave full consent for the Polavaram project at the time of bifurcation, approached the Supreme Court to stop its progress, Minister for Water Resources Devineni Umamaheswara Rao alleged here on Monday.
He told the media that Telangana was in a way challenging the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. It filed “original suit” (petition) on February 23 praying the Supreme Court to declare that A.P. “has no right to Polavaram Project without undertaking an assessment of probable maximum flood (PMF) at Polavaram Dam and study of the backwater and other effects in Telangana State.”
Section 90 Clause (3) of the Re-organisation Act passed by Parliament however said: “The consent for Polavaram Irrigation Project shall be deemed to have been given by the successor State of Telangana.”
By challenging this very Act of Parliament, Telangana was in a way questioning its own creation, the Minister said. Section 90 also declared the project a national one and according to Clause (4), the Central government should obtain all requisite clearances including environmental, forest and rehabilitation and resettlement norms.
Mr. Rao said Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao was creating hurdles in the completion of the project “out of sheer jealousy”.
Complaint to NGT
Earlier, Telangana leaders made themselves a party to ‘the dispute’ before the National Green Tribunal, he recalled. Notwithstanding this, YSR Congress Party president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy entered into a “secret deal”with KCR and he owed an explanation to the people of A.P., the Minister said.
As on date, 67.2% of the project had been completed and water would be supplied to farmers by gravity in June or July. The Central government had to reimburse ₹ 4,341 crore to A.P., the Minister said.
