Hyderabad: Former irrigation minister T Harish Rao has demanded that chief minister A Revanth Reddy disclose decisions taken at the meeting of chief ministers of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka with Union jal shakti minister CR Patil after the inauguration of the Tungabhadra dam spillway gates a few days ago. He said the decisions taken at the meeting should be discussed in the assembly as the issue concerns the future water security of the state and all political parties must be consulted before any commitments are made.Harish Rao also questioned whether Revanth Reddy had obtained any assurance on Telangana’s pending projects on the Godavari, the proposed river interlinking or protection of the state’s rightful allocations under the Krishna tribunal.Addressing a press conference at Telangana Bhavan on Saturday, the ex-minister accused the Congress govt of compromising Telangana’s legitimate rights over Krishna and Godavari water for political interests while projecting the recent three-state meeting at Tungabhadra as a historic achievement.The BRS leader said the CM’s lack of understanding of river water issues has become a serious threat to Telangana’s future. He alleged that while the BRS govt fought relentlessly and had secured approvals for major irrigation projects, the present Congress govt was surrendering the state’s interests before the Centre and neighbouring states.Harish Rao questioned the celebrations over the replacement of gates at the Tungabhadra Dam, stating that Telangana’s real concern was securing its rightful share of river water, not symbolic events.Karnataka was moving ahead with a proposed 35 thousand million cubic feet (TMC ft) Naveli reservoir upstream of the Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS), while AP was planning the 20 TMC Gundrevula Project downstream of RDS. “Together, these projects will enable the two states to impound 55 TMC of water, severely affecting inflows into Srisailam reservoir and jeopardising irrigation projects dependent on it, including the Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigation Scheme and the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation project,” Harish Rao said.The BRS deputy leader said the party would never remain silent if Telangana’s water rights were compromised. “We fought for Telangana, and we will continue to fight to protect every drop of water belonging to the state. Neither political compulsions nor secret understandings can be allowed to sacrifice Telangana’s future,” Harish Rao asserted.
