Telangana CM Revanth Reddy Urges Union Minister for Fair Krishna Water Allocation
Hyderabad, March 3: Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy met Union Jal Shakti Minister C. R. Patil on Monday, urging him to allocate a fair share of Krishna River water to Telangana. Accompanied by Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and Nalgonda MP Raghuveer Reddy, the Chief Minister presented his case in New Delhi, emphasizing the need for Telangana to receive 70 percent of Krishna water, given that 70 percent of the Krishna basin lies in Telangana, compared to 30 percent in Andhra Pradesh.
Reddy brought to the attention the Krishna River Management Board’s decision to allocate 66 percent of the water to Andhra Pradesh and only 34 percent to Telangana, despite the fact that a significant portion of the river’s catchment area is in Telangana. He urged the Union Minister to take immediate action to protect Telangana’s interests in both the Krishna and Godavari rivers.
In addition, the Chief Minister highlighted the ongoing injustice faced by Telangana, particularly regarding Andhra Pradesh’s over-extraction of water, and requested the Union Minister to ensure that the Andhra Pradesh government does not draw more water than its allocated share in the future. Revanth Reddy also stressed the need to install Telemetry systems to monitor water usage from projects on the Krishna River, offering to bear the cost if necessary.
The Chief Minister further raised concerns about delays in permissions for key projects, including the Palamuru-Ranga Reddy Lift Irrigation project, which has been awaiting clearance since its DPR submission in 2022. He called for swift approval of the necessary clearances from the Central Water Commission (CWC) and Technical Advisory Board (TAC) for the Sitarama Lift Irrigation and Sammakka Sagar Barrages.
Reddy also pointed out that the Andhra Pradesh government’s Godavari-Banakacherla interlinking project had been designed without the required clearances and violated provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. He reiterated that the Telangana government will not compromise on the protection of its water resources and urged the Union Minister to finalize the state’s assured water share from the Godavari River immediately.
The Chief Minister warned that failure to approve these vital projects would lead to a loss of irrigation stability for Telangana, which has already faced long-standing inequities in water distribution. Reddy emphasized the need for cooperative water management between the two states, highlighting that the issue of water sharing must be resolved to prevent further injustices for Telangana’s farmers and citizens.
