Hyderabad, May 19 (RAHNUMA): Tourism Minister Jupally Krishna Rao has criticised the BRS leaders who proposed a padayatra (foot march) from Narlapur to Uddandapur to demand the completion of irrigation projects in the former Mahboobnagar district.
He challenged the BRS leaders’ assertion that they had completed 90 percent of the Palamuru-Rangareddy project during their time in office.
During a press conference at the CLP media centre in the Assembly on Tuesday, Krishna Rao, joined by Sports Minister Vakiti Srihari and Government Whip Yennem Srinivas Reddy, along with MLAs Dr. Vamsi Krishna, Kasireddy Narayana Reddy, Dr. Rajesh Reddy, G. Madhusudan Reddy, Meghareddy, and Veerapalli Shankar, recalled that in 2015, then-Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao promised the project would be finished within two years.
Despite this, he pointed out that while ₹35,000 crore was allocated for pumps, motors, and surge pools, only ₹25,000 crore had been spent over the course of a decade, and the BRS government had yet to obtain the necessary permissions for the main canals and distribution systems.
Krishna Rao estimated that approximately ₹1,00,000 crore would be needed to complete the Palamuru-Rangareddy project.
He further accused the previous BRS government of failing to secure an allocation of 90 TMC of water for the Palamuru-Rangareddy project, asserting that Congress government would indeed ensure the provision of this amount.
Krishna Rao contended that the BRS government had effectively mortgaged Telangana’s share of Krishna River waters, and he criticised former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao and former Irrigation Minister Harish Rao for signing agreements stating that 299 TMC was adequate for Telangana.
He noted that the Congress government is advocating for Telangana’s rightful entitlement to a 62 percent share of the Krishna River waters.
Minister Vakiti Srihari added that the previous BRS government made lofty promises regarding the Palamuru-Rangareddy project but ultimately delivered little.
He claimed that out of 21 project packages, only 18 were initiated, while three were neglected. The Minister remarked that less than half of the projected budget had been utilised, emphasising that the people of Palamuru no longer have faith in the BRS leaders.
