Hyderabad, July 09: The state government had to face a torrid time in the Assembly from the opposition on its alleged failure to bring a halt to the ongoing illegal construction of irrigation projects on Krishna and Godavari rivers by the neighbouring Maharashtra and Karnataka states.
The Opposition parties targeted the government by accusing the Congress party of being responsible for the illegal constructions of the illegal projects.
Demanding an all-party meeting to formulate necessary safeguards in the interest of the state, the opposition parties TDP, PRP and CPI, said that the failure by the government to take action over the illegal constructions would soon turn vast areas of the state into deserts.
The opposition attack began during a short discussion on the issue. The discussion saw TDP member T Nageshwar Rao expressing his regrets over the failure of the state Government to prevent the construction of illegal projects on Godavari by Maharashtra, on Krishna river by Karnataka, and on Vamshadara by Orissa.
Mr Nageshwar Rao said that north Telangana would soon turn arid because of the ongoing works under the Babli project taken up by the Maharashtra government.
Divulging details, Mr Nageshwar Rao said that the capacity of Sriramsagar Project is already reduced to silt accumulating from the original 100 TMC to 80 TMC.
He said that the TDP had raised the Babli issue repeatedly during the last six years but the Congress government has not responed.
The TDP leader said that the Congress government has submitted an affidavit to the Water Disputes Tribunal saying that there is no allocation of water for Penugonda, Nettampadu and Handrineeva.”
Mr Nageshwar Rao sought an explanation on the rationale behind the affidavit which was against the interests of the state.
He charged the government of picking the wrong person to argue its case before the Tribunal and said that the Tribunal had termed the state government argument as ‘ineffective’.
The TDP leader also criticised the government for not furnishing clinching evidence to the Tribunal or to the Court on illegal projects taken up by Maharashtra and Karnataka on Krishna and Godavari.
He wondered why the government had not utilised satellite imagery to prove its case.
Speaking later, another TDP leader Yerabelli Dayakar Rao blamed former chief minister late YS Rajasekhara Reddy and Major Irrigation Minister Ponnala Laxmaiah for the failure to protect the interests of the farmers of the state during the first term of the Congress from 2004-2009. Mr Dayakar Rao sought an all-party meeting to pressurise the state’s neighbours.
Praja Rajyam Party member Anil Kumar and Communist Party of India also spoke on the issue. They said that six Telangana districts, Nalgonda, Warangal, Khammam, Karimnagar, Nizamabad and Adilabad would be the turned into deserts if the Babli project construction on Godavari River was not stopped.
——–INN