CM accuses KCR of Kaleshwaram type exploitation in PRLIS too

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy told the Telangana Legislative Assembly on Saturday (January 03) that neither former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao nor then Irrigation minister T. Harish Rao had any intention to give water to Palamuru (combined Mahabubnagar) through Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS), and they changed the sources from Jurala to Srisailam to make easy money.

Replying to the short discussion on the Krishna River waters, he said that had the source of Jurala been continued, Andhra Pradesh would have found no ground to oppose PRLIS, and most of it would have been completed by now with the expenditure made so far (over ₹27,000 crore) since the Bifurcation Act has the provision to continue the projects finalised till bifurcation.

He alleged that the main idea behind the source change and redesigning of the project was to make easy money by following the Kaleshwaram pattern of exploitation. Mr. Chandrashekhar Rao as the first Chief Minister of Telangana, had mortgaged the Krishna River water rights of the State since 2015 by agreeing to an adhoc water share of 299 tmc ft as against 512 tmc ft to A.P. out of assured water allocation of 811 tmc ft to the combined A.P. Moreover, the KCR government submitted to the Supreme Court that PRLIS was a drinking water project and not an irrigation project thus harming the Mahabubnagar district forever.

The Chief Minister blamed a close relative of Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao and former Engineer-in-Chief C. Muralidhar for deciding water share of 299 tmc ft to Telangana based on utilizations just before the formation of the new State in January 2014, overlooking the basic principle that water shares are decided based on the catchment area and Telangana has 68.5% of it in combined A.P.

He pointed out that the seeds for Polavaram Banakacherla Link Project were sown in the first Apex Council meeting itself in 2016 when Mr. Chandrashekhar Rao was on record that about 4,000 tmc ft water was flowing into the sea on average every year from Godavari and Krishna rivers. The interests of Telangana were nailed further in the second Apex Council meeting when 299 tmc ft share was agreed till finalisation of shares by the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal, which has been unable to decide the share for the last 21 years.

Stating that the idea of Palamuru Lift Irrigation Scheme had nothing to do with Mr. Chandrashekhar Rao or the previous BRS government, Mr. Reddy said it was first mooted by the then Mahabubnagar MP D. Vittal Rao in 2009 and permission was accorded for a detailed survey for drawing two tmc ft water a day during the flood days from Jurala in August 2013 to provide irrigation facility to the uplands of Palamuru.

After the formation of Telangana, the then government had given the task of survey to the Engineering Staff College of India, and it had recommended lifting of 2.8 tmc ft water a day for at least 25 days a year in three stages from 318 metres to 675 metres to utilise at least 70 tmc ft water, and a retired engineers body too vetted it. However, the then government had changed its mind overnight without anybody suggesting a change of source, with Mr. Chandrashekhar Rao laying the foundation stone for PRLIS with Srisailam as source in 2016 with five-stage lifting.

Some individuals had moved the National Green Tribunal following change of source, but by then about ₹20,000 crore was spent. The Central Water Commission did not clear the project seeking details of 45 tmc ft saving in the minor irrigation sector and another 45 tmc ft in lieu of Godavari water diversion by A.P. stating that only the KWDT could make water allocations.

Stating that he won’t mortgage the State’s interests as long as he was alive, the Chief Minister said he would continue the project with Srisailam as source if cleared by the agencies concerned or else his government would take water from Jurala itself. Later, the House adopted an unopposed resolution requesting the Centre not to accord clearances to Polavaram-Nallamalasagar Link Project till the finalisation of water shares by KWDT-II and give all clearances to PRLIS .