The ongoing watersharing tug-of-war between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh has made an appearance yet again with Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy actively opposing the Banakacharla project that the Andhra Pradesh government launched. Protesting on the allocation of Krishna River waters, he appealed to Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Paatil for a fair apportionment stating that Telangana is being unfairly deprived and needs more.
Revanth Reddy claimed that although almost 70% of the catchment area of the Krishna River falls in Telangana, the state gets a disproportionately smaller proportion of water. He insisted that Telangana should be allocated 70% of Krishna waters as per its geographical presence. Further, he explained that the central government should first decide Telangana’s rightful share of Godavari waters before taking any decision on Andhra Pradesh’s irrigation schemes.
Holding Andhra Pradesh for unilaterally draining Krishna waters, Revanth Reddy officially put the matter in the notice of the central government and sought that the government take prompt action to prevent what he described as a one-sided exploitation of common water resources.
Reacting to the charges, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu came to the defense of the Banakacharla project, comparing its significance to Telangana’s Kaleshwaram project. He claimed that if Kaleshwaram is critical for Telangana’s water requirement, Banakacharla is no less critical to Andhra Pradesh. He went on to cite that he never came out against Kaleshwaram and criticized Telangana’s leadership for politicizing the matter unnecessarily.
Naidu made it clear that Andhra Pradesh does not oppose Telangana using Godavari waters for its projects. But he strongly criticized Telangana for its opposition to attempts by Andhra Pradesh to develop Krishna waters that would otherwise end up going to the sea. Referring to his past deeds as Chief Minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh, he referred to priority irrigation projects like Bheema and Devadula and made a case for proper management of water rather than sparking political disputes.
