The political slugfest between the YSR Congress party and the Telugu Desam Party over who had stopped the Rayalaseema lift irrigation project has taken an interesting turn on Tuesday with former advisor to the Union ministry of Jal Shakti, Vedire Sriram, declaring that it was stopped by National Green Tribunal.
Speaking to media in Hyderabad after a power point presentation on Krishna and Godavari water allocations, Sriram asserted that the Rayalaseema lift scheme was not stopped by any political party or government, but was halted solely due to orders from the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
He was reacting to the claim made by Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy that he had prevailed upon Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu to stop the Rayalaseema lift scheme.
The Naidu government later issued a clarification saying that the scheme was stopped in 2022 itself, when Jagan Mohan Reddy was the chief minister.
Sriram sought to counter what he described as “politically motivated misinformation” surrounding irrigation projects in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
He stated that between 2014 and 2024, Andhra Pradesh lifted and utilised more water from the Krishna basin than Telangana.
He pointed out that major projects such as the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme still lack both hydraulic clearance and environmental clearance.
He said the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the Palamuru-Rangareddy project was returned by the Union government during the BRS regime and again after the Congress came to power, due to inadequate technical and legal documentation.
“If the state government submits proper legal and technical data, approval for 45 TMC of water usage can be obtained immediately. For the remaining 45 TMC, strong representation before the tribunal can secure permissions,” he said.
Sriram further alleged that although the Congress government had issued Government Orders before 2014, it failed to secure actual water allocations.
He accused former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao of signing for 299 TMC of water, thereby “surrendering Telangana’s rightful opportunity.”
He charged both the Congress and the BRS with lacking political will and failing to complete even a single major irrigation project.
“KCR must explain why not one project was completed. The Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) will not allocate fresh water shares. The window of opportunity was lost due to political negligence,” Sriram asserted.
