Hyderabad: T Harish Rao, a senior leader from the BRS, criticized the Telangana government on Friday. He accused Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy of failing to safeguard the state’s water resources and favoring Andhra Pradesh.
Speaking at a press conference in Dubbaka, Harish Rao accused Uttam Kumar Reddy of misleading the public on important irrigation projects. He claimed that the Congress government stopped the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation works started by the previous BRS government, only to resume them later for political reasons.
Harish Rao mocked Uttam Kumar Reddy for meeting with Chandrababu Naidu, former CM of Andhra Pradesh, yet doing nothing as Telangana’s water rights suffered. He alleged that the Congress government used the lowest water allocations from the Krishna River in the state’s history, affecting farmers in Khammam, Nalgonda, and Mahbubnagar.
Under temporary allocations, Telangana reportedly received 65 tmcft less water, leaving 6.5 lakh acres dry. Harish Rao demanded that Uttam Kumar Reddy explain his silence while Andhra Pradesh allegedly diverted 400 tmcft of Godavari water illegally. He criticized the lack of preparation for the Babli project when Uttam was the Irrigation Minister and questioned why the government hadn’t taken the issue to the Supreme Court or pressured the Centre.
Harish Rao also criticized BJP leaders for not confronting Andhra Pradesh’s alleged water misappropriation. He warned that if the government failed to act, BRS would take the matter to the Supreme Court. Harish Rao accused the Congress of misleading employees by forming committees instead of delivering on Dearness Allowance (DA) and Pay Revision Commission (PRC) benefits. He demanded the immediate release of pending DAs and improved PRC benefits compared to those under the previous BRS government.
He dismissed CM Revanth Reddy’s claims about the collapse of the Kaleshwaram project, arguing that projects like Gandhamalla, Mallannasagar, and Ranganayak Sagar rely on it. Harish Rao challenged the CM to explain how water would reach Gandhamalla if Kaleshwaram were indeed non-functional.
