Hyderabad: Parties pick holes in pact
Shabbir Ali said that by signing this agreement with the neighbouring state, Mr Rao has done a great injustice to the people of the state.
Hyderabad: Slamming Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for signing a pact with the Maharashtra government over sharing of Godavari waters, Leader of the Opposition in the TS Legislative Council Mohd.
Ali Shabbir on Tuesday termed it as “Maha daga” (grand cheating) and a black day in the history of Telangana.
Addressing the media here, Mr Shabbir Ali said that by signing this agreement with the neighbouring state, Mr Rao has done a great injustice to the people of the state.
Mr Shabbir Ali continued, “It’s injustice because the height of the barrages to come up at Medigadda, Tummidihatti on Pranahita, Chanakha-Korata on Penganga, Pinpahad and Rajapeta has been decreased to 148 metres from the earlier proposal of 152 metres.”
Showing copies of a similar agreement signed on May 5, 2012, he said that the then Chief Ministers N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and Prithviraj Chavan signed a pact for construction of 152-metre high barrage at Tummidihatti.
TS TD working president A. Revanth Reddy said that the Maharashtra government, which has been exerting pressure for reduction of the height of Tummidihatti barrage from 152 metres to 148 metres, has succeeded.
“The agreement will do greater injustice and damage to TS interests as a whole and for Adilabad district in particular,” Mr Reddy said.
He questioned the CM on what steps have been taken to prevent Maharashtra, being an upper riparian state, from stopping waters flowing into TS by constructing road-cum-barrages, including illegal project like Babli.
“The CM should have discussed the issue with leaders of all parties before inking the pact with Maharasthra,” Mr Reddy said. He accused Mr Rao of revising the Pranahita-Chevella scheme estimates from Rs 35,000 crore to Rs 85,000 crore only to benefit some contractors and not farmers.
Meanwhile, M. Padmanabha Reddy, secretary, Forum for Good Governance, told reporters here that there was a lot of confusion prevailing over the fate of Pranahita-Chevella project, and efforts by the forum to seek details of the scheme from chief engineer and principal secretary, irrigation, had been futile.
He asked legislators from the six districts that come under the scheme to raise the issue in the Budget session to get more clarity on the feasibility and implementation of the scheme.
Citing a report from WAPCOS that was entrusted with preparation of the report, Mr Padmanabha Reddy said the originally estimated availability of 160 tmc ft would be drastically reduced to 110 tmc ft after Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh start developing their own water resources.
He also expressed apprehensions about the project getting clearances from as many as 11 Central ministries due to redesigning and re-engineering.
“It’s doubtful if the state government could bear such a massive expenditure of Rs 80,000 crore on the project if it fails to get the Centre to declare it a national project. The requirement of power for lifting the water will be around 2,525 MW, a highly expensive affair.
Why fight? Live and let live: KCR
The Chief Minister said that undivided AP and Maharashtra had quarrelled over sharing of waters, like at the Babli project. Attempts were made to block projects and deny water to TS, he said.
“Let’s not waste the working season. Height is no issue. For Maharashtra and TS it is a historic day. We are Indians first. We have to adopt a policy of live and let live,” he said.
“There is sufficient water in the Godavari. According to the Central Water Commission, about 2,000 tmc ft to 4,000 tmc ft (thousand million cubic feet) of Godavari water goes waste into the sea annually.
Recently I visited the capital of AP. I told the AP CM that there is no point quarrelling. We will utilise our share and you utilise yours instead of letting it go waste into the sea,” Mr Rao said.
He added, “TS and Maharashtra have a long border. Not just water, we should have cooperation in other sectors. We don’t want water wars with Maharashtra or any other state.”
“It’s a historic accord. States might be different, but we are Indians first. Neighbouring states should live in a friendly environment and not fight with each other. Any issue can be settled with dialogue. There shouldn’t be water wars,” Mr Rao said