Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh will be the loser in getting river waters if it failed to abstain from coming in the way of irrigation projects in Telangana, Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao has warned.
Addressing a press conference at Secretariat here on Tuesday evening, Harish Rao demanded that Andhra Pradesh should immediately withdraw its letter written to Karnataka Government against RDS works through which Telangana is entitled to get 15.9 tmc. We have complained to Krishna Water Management Board on the issue and hope that the AP Government will stop its inhuman behavior of coming in the way of the projects of Telagnana and deprive it of irrigation waters he said. Kurnool district officials asked their Karnataka counterparts to stall the works related to Anicut which occupies 50 per cent space in TS and Karnataka. He expressed displeasure saying that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and YCP Chief Jagan Reddy are sparring for politics. If the TD Government failed to cooperate Telangana will move court to get its rightful share of waters. Naidu and Jagan fighting against our projects is ridiculous as the previous AP government approved them and allocations were made to Telangana and AP by Brijesh Tribunal and Bachawat committee. My AP counterpart Devineni Umamaheswar Rao is in denial mood to sort out the issue though I spoke to him for about six times he said. During his Delhi trip Naidu said that the AP will divert 80 tmc from Pattiseema for its use which will also enable Telangana to get same quantity of waters as per tribunal orders he said. Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu informed to Parliament during its session that Pattiseema is not part of Polavaram project Harish recalled. Telangana as a riparian state will get its share from Polavaram if it was completed besides from other projects he added. Though we are supposed to draw waters to irrigate 87,500 acres Telangana could get waters hardly for 20000 acres due to denial by AP Government he said. (NSS)