The Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) has cleared another legal hurdle as the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II rejected the petition of the Andhra Pradesh Government. The Andhra Pradesh Government had requested the tribunal to stop Telangana from using 90 tmc ft of Krishna water for the PRLIS. However, the tribunal stated that it does not have the authority to consider the request and advised the Andhra Pradesh government to approach other appropriate channels.
Senior Counsel CS Vaidyanathan, Advocate on Record Nikhil Swamy, Advocate Harish Vaidyanatahan, and other lawyers from Telangana attended the proceedings, while Senior counsel Umapathi, Srinivas, and other lawyers from Andhra Pradesh were also present.
Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy expressed that this decision is a victory for the people of Palamuru. He stated that there are now no obstacles in lifting 90 tmc ft of water from the project. The minister credited Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s persistence for this success. He also called on the central government to identify and remove any obstructions to the Palamuru Rangareddy lift irrigation scheme and to promptly settle Telangana’s share of water in the Krishna river.
The Palamuru Rangareddy Lifts have already obtained permissions from various departments including Forest, Environment, Central Ground Water Department, Electricity Authority, and Central Materials Research Station.
