BRS cautions Congress Govt. against compromising State’s interests

BRS cautions Congress Govt. against compromising State’s interests

hyderabad

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has cautioned the Congress government against ‘compromising’ the State’s interests regarding Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar projects, following reports that the Centre (Ministry of Jal Shakti) is planning to hand over their management, including security, operation and maintenance, water release and hydro-electric generation, to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) within a week.

Addressing a press conference, along with party leaders Ravula Chandrasekhar Reddy and Deshpathi Srinivas here on Friday, former Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao said that handing over the projects to the river board would harm the State’s interests badly and would not only impact adversely in the matter of irrigation but also in case of drinking water needs and hydel generation too. Handing over the projects would simply amount to mortgaging the State’s interests.

He mentioned that the previous BRS government had successfully averted the Centre’s and Andhra Pradesh’s efforts to hand over the project to the river board by fighting the issue tooth and nail. He explained that the BRS government was against handing over the projects to the river board on the grounds that there was no operational manual in place, there was no clarity on the water shares of AP and Telangana and no assurance on carry over storage of water.

Further, there was no word on the implementation of taking into account only 20% of the water drawn for drinking needs of Hyderabad, Misssion Bhagiratha and Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda and Khammam districts as recommended by the Bachawat Tribunal and no guarantee on the release of 264 tmc ft water from Srisailam to Nagarjunasagar as envisaged by the Planning Commission while sanctioning Srisailam.

Citing media reports, he stated that the State Government appeared to have agreed to handover the projects to the river board at the January 17 meeting convened by MoJS with the two States Mr. Harish Rao said any disagreement between the two States should be referred to the Apex Council but nothing of that sort was coming forth.

He alleged that it was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress combination that had unilaterally transferred 460 megawatt Lower Sileru hydel project along with seven mandals from combined Khammam district in Telangana to AP even before the BRS (TRS) Government assumed office after 2014 elections. He demanded that the Congress Government wake up protect the State’s interests and fight of 50% water share till the shares were finalised or else the BRS would be forced to take up a struggle.