Telangana Minister Urges Centre to Halt Andhra Pradesh's Water Project
Hyderabad: Telangana’s Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy has called on the Union government to stop Andhra Pradesh from proceeding with its Godavari-Banakacharla Link project. He emphasized the need to safeguard Telangana’s interests in water sharing.
The Minister sent strongly-worded letters to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil. In these letters, he requested the Centre to withhold any financial assistance for the project. He also urged the Union government to prevent Andhra Pradesh from moving forward with activities such as issuing tenders or awarding contracts for the scheme.
Uttam explained that the Andhra Pradesh government is seeking funds for the Godavari-Banakacharla Link Scheme, also referred to as the Godavari-Krishna-Penna linking project. This initiative intends to divert 200 tmc ft of floodwaters from the Godavari River to the Penna basin in Andhra Pradesh. A new reservoir with a storage capacity of 150 tmc ft is planned at Bollapalli in Guntur district to support this project.
Highlighting procedural violations, Uttam pointed out that any new project on interstate rivers like Godavari or Krishna requires clearance from the Central Water Commission (CWC) of the Jal Shakti Ministry. The project must then be reviewed by either the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) or Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) and finally approved by the Apex Council. However, he stated that Andhra Pradesh has not obtained any of these approvals for the Godavari-Banakacharla project.
The Minister also raised concerns about Andhra Pradesh bypassing legal provisions under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act (APRA) 2014. He noted that the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) had allocated 1,486 tmc ft of water for projects in the Godavari Basin, shared by both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The remaining floodwaters beyond this allocation have neither been quantified nor apportioned between the two states. Uttam argued that Andhra Pradesh’s decision to proceed with such projects without proper apportionment is unacceptable.
In his letters, Uttam cautioned that any financial support from the Centre—whether through budgetary allocations, grants, or international aid—would harm the water rights of Telangana’s people. He particularly highlighted the plight of drought-prone regions in the state that are in dire need of water. Allowing such a project, he warned, would undermine fair management of interstate river waters and set a dangerous precedent against natural justice and statutory guidelines.
