Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Sunday held BRS president K. Chandrashekar Rao totally responsible for allowing Andhra Pradesh to get away with “daylight highway robbery of water from Krishna River” even as Telangana was left with little.
“There has been systematic and deliberate cheating of the people of Telangana by former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, who, in pursuit of commissions, bent over backwards to allow Andhra Pradesh to loot water from Krishna,” Reddy said.
He made it clear that no project on the Krishna was handed over to the Krishna River Management Board. “KCR, Harish Rao and KTR are trying to spread lies on this issue, confuse people and make political gains. It was KCR who agreed to hand these over to KRMB and he declared as much in last year’s Budget documents. This was in the AP Reorganisation Act, which KCR claimed that every sentence of the Act was vetted by him,” Revanth Reddy said.
“These are the sins of the BRS and they are trying to push them on to us,” Revanth Reddy said.
Addressing a press conference, Revanth Reddy declared his government will release a White Paper on irrigation projects in Telangana. “(I challenge) KCR, Harish, and KTR to take part in a project-wise debate in the Assembly. And if they want, they can even have Kavitha Rao join them,” he said.
Revanth Reddy said: “Let’s have a detailed debate. Let’s discuss who cheated, looted and betrayed Telangana. We can even have a joint session of the Council and Assembly. We will let these BRS leaders speak as much as they want without a minute of interruption from us. From the government’s side, irrigation minister Uttam Kumar Reddy and I will speak, expose the lies and dark secret deals of the BRS.”
It was Chandrashekar Rao, along with Harish Rao, who gave away Telangana’s rightful share of water to Andhra Pradesh in a KRMB meeting held on June 18, 2015, agreeing to just 299 TMC ft of water for Telangana of 811 TMC ft that was allocated to unified AP. “This gave AP 512 TMC ft of water from Krishna, and after extending this agreement one year at a time, KCR finally said let this be a permanent arrangement, as part of a dark deal with AP CM Jagan Mohan Reddy,” he said.
The Chief Minister said every action of Chandrashekar Rao was taken in pursuit of commissions and for AP’s benefit. “First, he allowed YSR to take water from Pothireddypadu and then his son, Jagan, to take water from Rayalaseema lift irrigation scheme. KCR had a six-hour meeting with Jagan at Pragati Bhavan on January 14, 2020, and KCR okayed Rayalaseema project to lift 8 tmc ft of water a day from Srisailam reservoir backwaters. Then came the GO 203 from the AP government calling for tenders for the project with August 10, 2020, as the last date.”
Revanth Reddy said the KRMB had called for a meeting on August 5, 2020, in Delhi, but Chandrashekar Rao declined to attend, saying he was busy till August 20, 2020. “This allowed AP to go ahead with the tender process that closed on August 10, 2020, and the contract was awarded to Megha.”
“This was a secret deal of KCR with Jagan. Neither did KCR go to KRMB meeting or protest and ask for the Rayalaseema project to be stopped,” Revanth Reddy said.
“Among the Rayalaseema, Pothireddypadu and other projects by AP, KCR allowed 12 to 13 TMC ft of water a day to be taken away about which Telangana will have no idea when this happens,” he said.
Tough questions
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy posed a series of questions to his predecessor K. Chandrashekar Rao:
1) Explain your silence over AP cops armed with guns barging in and taking control of the Nagarjunasagar project on the eve of the Assembly elections.
2) Can you say how to stop this loot of water by AP to the extent of 12 to 13 TMC ft a day?
3) Explain how in minutes of past KRMB meetings there are notes of your agreement to hand over Krishna projects to KRMB.
4) Don’t find excuses to stay away from Assembly, come with Harish, KTR, or even Kavitha, and face debate on irrigation projects.
