Former Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao raised serious allegations against Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Saturday, accusing him of compromising Telangana’s rightful allocation of Krishna and Godavari river waters for political gain. Rao demanded transparency regarding decisions made during the recent tripartite meeting involving Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, which took place following the inauguration of the spillway gates at Tungabhadra dam a few days earlier. He insisted that these details be presented to the Legislative Assembly.

During a press conference, Rao sought clarification on several key issues, including the status of Telangana’s water entitlement of 968 tmc in the Godavari, the 15.90 tmc allocation under the Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS), and the pending approvals for irrigation projects. He expressed concerns regarding whether Telangana’s interests had been adequately safeguarded in proposed river-linking initiatives.

Highlighting projects initiated by neighboring states, Rao noted that Karnataka is moving ahead with construction of a 35 tmc Naveli Reservoir upstream of RDS, while Andhra Pradesh is contemplating a 20 tmc Gundrevula project downstream. He warned that combined, these undertakings could capture approximately 55 tmc of water, potentially impacting inflows into the Srisailam reservoir and endangering essential irrigation efforts such as the Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigation Scheme and the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Project.

Rao further questioned whether Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had attained guarantees regarding Telangana’s allocation under RDS, the closure of unauthorized outlets from Andhra Pradesh, and the necessary repairs in the canal system and dam infrastructure. He expressed discontent over a closed-door meeting that involved the Chief Ministers of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka, along with a senior official from the Union Water Resources Ministry, while Telangana’s Irrigation Minister and senior officials were notably absent.

Concerned about discussions regarding the proposed Godavari river-linking plans, Rao warned that these could undermine Telangana’s interests, particularly impacting significant projects like the Sammakka Sagar, projected to irrigate nearly four lakh acres in the districts of Warangal and Nalgonda. He accused the state government of prioritizing river-linking proposals that might disproportionately benefit Andhra Pradesh.