TOn Andhra Pradesh Government 81 900 GBP Crore Polavara Banakacherla Link Project, which aims to transfer excess water from the Godavari River to Banakacherly in the Rayalaseem area susceptible to drought, is in Limbo. This is a disputed project because Telangana claims that it violates the provisions of the Act on the Reorganization of Andhra Pradesh from 2014.
Last week, the Committee for the assessment of the expert rejected the permit for the reference conditions needed to perform the plan of impact assessment and environmental management. The Committee argued that the Godavari Tribunal Award must be examined first and that the Central Water Commission (CWC) should be consulted before any environmental approval is granted. The government has not yet commented on this decision. Political dialogue between the main ministers of AP and Telangana may be necessary to shift the project.
While the bold project seems to be the solution to Rayalaseem’s acute lack of water, there is a worrying question behind the great ambition. Is the state mortgage its future for a project that can never be economically viable or environmentally healthy?
On paper, the project is an engineering miracle. However, its scale requires control, especially when it is considered against its energy costs, environmental tracks and legal uncertainty. The project will require an estimated 3,377 MW of energy. This is a stunning demand for a fiscal stressed state. Officials point out that this system will eventually create around 430 MW; This is barely a fraction of what is needed to start it.
The project environment is alarming. The main tunnel of 19.5 kilometers cuts an environmentally sensitive reserve padding Forest and Tiger. A total of 17,739 acres of forest land is designed for use.
It is also not clear why the state has decided on an energy -intensive solution when there are alternatives fed by gravity. The Krishna River, especially the Srisailam reservoir, offers a natural gradient that could irrigate Rayalaseem with significantly less financial and environmental costs. Gravity-based projects, such as Gallery-Nagari, conceived decades ago for this purpose, remain unfinished.
The project is designed within the Hybrid Annuity model, which combines central grants, state capital, loans and private investments. A special accounting vehicle, Jalarathi Corporation, was established for release. The financing model assumes the Crore 40 950 GBP in loans, 16,380 GBP Crore in central grants, 8 190 Crore in state capital and 16,380 GBP Crore through private investment.
Unusually, the supplier is responsible for obtaining critical permits from various ministries and CWC.
Although finances and needs of power are somehow managed, the project depends on the assumption that excess flood water from Godavari flows into the sea unnecessarily. But that’s unverified. And as mentioned above, the Committee has already rejected permission to reference conditions. Without check -in from CWC, central funding is uncertain.
The project of irrigation of the Kaleshware Telangana elevator sets a warning precedent. CWC refused to approve an additional component after determining that the projection of water availability was exaggerated. The proposal of the AP government may face similar resistance, especially if there is no formal agreement to share excess flows Godavari.
Telangana has already raised objections under the AP reorganization Act, which orders all new projects on the rivers Krishna and Godavari to receive permission from the river administrators. However, AP claims that it is a project inside the state using flood water towards the sea. It is a legal gray zone that could lead to litigation years.
In recent years, AP has often found that their interests are displaced. The center supported the Horní Bhadra Karnataka project just before the elections. In Telangana, this modified the reference conditions for the allocation of Krishna just before the elections. Given that TDP is back in the fold of NDA, speculation is torn, that the GODAVARI-BANAKACERLA project could become a political bargaining chip. Rayalaseem’s long -term water safety should not be reduced to short -term arithmetic in Delhi. At the same time, Rayalaseem’s development must be developed through projects that are sustainable, legally defendable and based on hydrological reality.
Published – 9 July 2025 01:48 IS
