Hyderabad, June 24 (RAHNUMA): Former minister and BRS deputy floor leader T. Harish Rao has written an open letter to Chief Minister Revanth Reddy demanding immediate intervention to protect Telangana’s rightful share in the Tungabhadra river waters and prevent Karnataka from proceeding with what he termed as illegal projects that could severely impact irrigation and drinking water needs in Telangana.
In his letter on Wednesday, Harish Rao stated that one of the greatest injustices suffered by Telangana during the united Andhra Pradesh era was the denial of its legitimate share of Krishna and Godavari river waters.
He said the Telangana movement was driven in part by the need to secure water rights and that after statehood, the BRS government successfully redirected river waters to drought-prone regions, transforming districts like Palamuru through large-scale irrigation projects.
Harish Rao alleged that since coming to power, the Congress government has failed to safeguard Telangana’s water interests and has instead adopted policies that compromise the state’s rights for political considerations. He accused the government of remaining silent while Karnataka proceeds with projects on the Tungabhadra River that could adversely affect Telangana.
Questioning the State government’s stand, Harish Rao asked whether Telangana had indirectly consented to Karnataka’s proposed Kurdi Lift Irrigation Scheme and the Chikkalaparvi and Chikkalamanchi bridge-cum-barrages. He sought clarification on whether the approval granted by Karnataka for the Kodangal Lift Irrigation Scheme had come at the cost of Telangana’s long-term water interests.
He warned that the projects being taken up by Karnataka upstream of the Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS) would significantly reduce water flows into Telangana. He said that if these projects are completed, irrigation benefits under RDS would be severely affected, putting thousands of farmers at risk.
Harish Rao questioned why the Telangana government had failed to officially object to Karnataka’s activities despite the projects allegedly proceeding without mandatory approvals from the Central Water Commission (CWC), Krishna River Management Board (KRMB), Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
He pointed out that Karnataka was already utilising water far beyond its allocated share in the RDS system and cautioned that the new projects could further diminish Telangana’s rightful allocation.
