Former BRS Minister and MLA Harish Rao has become serious about the Congress spreading false narration on the Sitarama project. He said that even though the Sitarama project has Central Water Resources Board (CWRB) and Hydrology approvals, the Congress is misleading the people of Telangana with false propaganda.
He strongly condemned the comments made by Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy on this project. He accused that the Congress came to power with lies and is deceiving the people of Telangana with the same lies. “It is shameful to pose for photos near the Sitarama project built by the government and criticize the same project. Our quest is to build projects and provide water, and it is your honor to pose for photos”, he said.
“We have made the land of Telangana, which turned into a desert under your rule, fertile under our rule. If the Congress rule did injustice to Telangana in irrigation for 50 years, the nine and a half years of BRS rule have raised the banner of victory in the irrigation sector”, he added.
He alleged that in the name of `Jala Yagnam’ the combined Andhra Pradesh rules did injustice to the farmers of Telangana and now people are realizing that Congress is once again trying to pawn Telangana water to Andhra. “It is not about throwing dirt on the BRS rule on every issue. I request Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy to complete the remaining project works with sincerity”, he said.
Harish Rao said that on October 30, 2018, the BRS government submitted the Detailed Project Report (DPR) to the Central Water Board. The CWC Hydrology Department confirmed that 113.795 TMC of water was available for the proposed Sitarama project in September and October 2021, he added.
He also said that the Central Government had confirmed in 2021 that 70.4 TMC of water could be used under the Sitarama Lift Irrigation Project to provide irrigation water to 6.74 lakh acres in Khammam, Bhadradri, Kothagudem and Mahabubabad districts, and that it could be used for drinking water as well as industrial purposes.
