Harish Rao accuses CM of helping A.P. proceed with Godavari-Banakacharla project

HYDERABAD

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and former Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao has slammed Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy for his reported comments on the Godavari-Banakacharla project during an all-party MPs meeting on Wednesday. He accused Mr. Reddy of indirectly supporting the Andhra Pradesh government’s proposed project without proper knowledge about the issue.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Mr. Harish Rao alleged that the Chief Minister’s comments suggested that he had agreed to the project, and that would be detrimental to Telangana’s interests. He questioned Mr. Reddy’s understanding of the project details, including the location of Banakacharla and the Godavari basin.

Mr. Harish Rao also questioned the CM’s remarks that Telangana would not interfere with Andhra Pradesh projects, including Banakacharla, if it is assured of 1,500 tmc ft water (1,000 tmc ft from Godavari and 500 tmc ft from Krishna).

He accused Mr. Reddy of trying to surrender Telangana’s water rights to Andhra Pradesh and warned that people of Telangana would not accept such a betrayal. The former Minister also criticised Mr. Reddy for “listening to Adityanath Das, advisor to the Irrigation Department, and accusing Mr. Das of helping the Andhra Pradesh governmnet.

He said that the KCR government had built projects on the Godavari and Krishna rivers, including Sammakka Sagar and Seethamma Sagar, and other projects on the Krishna River. The BRS leader also demanded that Mr. Reddy apologise for his actions and called for the resignation of Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy, citing negligence in the collapse of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project. Besides, he questioned why the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) and the BJP had not taken any action on the SLBC project.

Published - June 19, 2025 08:51 pm IST