Harish making false claims, our water interests safe: Uttam

Addressing a press meet following one by Harish Rao on the subject, Uttam Kumar Reddy said AP CM N. Chandrababu Naidu had only submitted a proposal for the Godavari-Banakacherla Link scheme to the Centre. “Harish Rao is fabricating claims and misleading the public by making false claims stating that 200 tmc ft of water had already been diverted,” Uttam said.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said he had written to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union jal shakti minister C.R. Patil, urging them to deny financial or regulatory support for the project. “I said the proposed project violates the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) Award of 1980 and the Andhra Pradesh Re-organisation Act (APRA) of 2014. I also made it clear that the project, if allowed to proceed, would undermine Telangana’s water rights and disrupt the equitable management of interstate river waters,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said.

He further clarified that the Telangana government was closely monitoring the situation and had taken proactive measures to safeguard its interests. He said “not a single drop of water has flown from Godavari to Andhra Pradesh. We are handling the situation with utmost caution.”

Accusing Harish Rao of resorting to “imaginary scenarios to mislead people,” he said “Andhra Pradesh has only submitted a proposal, but Harish Rao, in his imagination, is falsely claiming that 200 tmc ft of water has already been diverted.”

He also criticised the previous BRS government for its failure to protect Telangana’s water interests during its tenure. He said it was the BRS government which agreed to a smaller share of 299 tmc ft of Krishna river water. “How the BRS failed the state can be seen from the Kaleshwaram project, which is a costly failure due to poor planning and execution. The people of Telangana are openly questioning why this expensive project has not delivered as promised.”