If the Narendra Modi government has its way, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and his Telangana counterpart K Chandrasekhar Rao are likely to sit across the negotiation table soon in Delhi.
According to reports in New Delhi, the Prime Minister’s Office is said to have taken seriously a series of letters written by Jagan over the alleged unauthorized construction of lift irrigation schemes on Krishna river by Telangana and its drawl of water for power generation, depriving water to Rayalaseema.
The PMO reportedly asked the Union Jal Sakthi ministry to immediately look into the issue and take steps to resolve the dispute between the two states.
Accordingly, the ministry is said to be working out the modalities to convene the apex council meeting shortly.
The apex council, headed by Union Jal Sakthi minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, will comprise the chief ministers of both the Telugu states.
So, the Centre will call both Jagan and KCR to Delhi for the apex council meeting at a date convenient to both the chief ministers.
However, one doubts whether KCR and Jagan will be interested in attending the apex council meeting at this stage.
Jagan has already left the ball in the Centre’s court and after making such serious allegations against the Telangana government, he may not be willing to meet KCR.
At the same time, KCR is unhappy with the way the AP government has knocked the doors of the Centre with a barrage of complaints, instead of resolving the issue through mutual discussions.
The Telangana government has already refused to attend the meeting of Krishna River Management Board originally scheduled on July 9, as a result of which it was postponed to July 22.
It remains to be seen how the Centre convinces both the chief ministers to attend the apex council meeting.
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