BRS senior MLA and former minister T. Harish Rao accused the Congress government of allowing the neighboring Andhra Pradesh government to plunder Telangana’s water resources in the name of the Polavaram–Nallamalasagar Link Project (PNLP) through its reckless actions. He demanded that the state government put pressure on the Center by staging a protest in front of the Central Water Commission (CWC), which he claimed had granted permission to AP to use 200 TMC feet of Godavari water.
At a press conference at the party’s state office on Tuesday, Mr. Rao said that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy was helping the Andhra Pradesh government because N. Chandrababu Naidu was his political mentor. He also accused Mr. Reddy of making blatant false statements regarding a meeting convened by the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti attended by the Chief Ministers and Irrigation Ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on July 16, 2025 in New Delhi.
“Mr. Revanth Reddy initially said he would not attend the meeting but he did. Later he claimed that the Godavari-Banakacharla link was not on the agenda, yet it was included. Though he claimed that the issue was not discussed, it was actually discussed in the meeting and Revanth Reddy even signed related documents,” said Mr. Rao. He added that the Andhra Pradesh government had actually withdrawn the Polavaram–Banakacharla Link project after Karnataka and Maharashtra said they would claim their share of the water under the Bachawat tribunal award if water was diverted from the Godavari to the Krishna.
“In light of this, the Andhra Pradesh government is now proposing the Polavaram–Nallamalasagar Link Project (PNLP). However, this new project would seriously harm the water interests of Telangana,” he said, demanding immediate action by the Congress government to prevent Andhra Pradesh from implementing the project.
Mr. Rao also criticized the state government for appointing retired IAS officer and former Andhra Pradesh chief secretary Adityanath Das to head the Telangana-Andhra Pradesh Water Dispute Resolution Committee. He demanded that Das be expelled from the committee, alleging that he had previously acted against Telangana’s water interests.
Published – 30 Dec 2025 20:01 IST
