Harish Rao flays Uttam Reddy for misleading people on clearances for SRLIS

Former irrigation minister Harish Rao criticizes current minister Uttam Reddy for misleading public on SRLIS project approvals.

HYDERABAD

Senior leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and former irrigation minister T. Harish Rao has criticised the present Minister for Irrigation N. Uttam Kumar Reddy for misleading people in the matter of the previous government’s efforts to secure approvals and clearances for Sita Rama Lift Irrigation Scheme (SRLIS), including from the Central Water Commission (CWC).

Mr. Harish Rao reminded Mr. Uttam Reddy that it was on October 30, 2018 the then BRS government had submitted the detailed project report of SRLIS to the CWC for appraisal and clearances and it was in October 2021 the CWC had accorded the hydrology clearance to the project stating that the availability of water for the project would be 113.795 tmc ft and of which 70.4 tmc ft could be used for the project, including irrigation, drinking and industrial needs.

He also released a copy of the CWC letter on water availability and hydrology clearance. In a statement, Mr. Harish Rao said on Sunday that it was the Congress leaders of the Telangana region in the combined Andhra Pradesh who had remained mute spectators to the then rulers’ taking (diverting) away Krishna waters to the non-basin areas at the cost of needs of the in-basin areas in Telangana.

Even the present Congress government too was following the same by mortgaging the State’s interests to A.P. as some leaders’ measure of gratification. He accused the Congress leaders of creating hurdles for the project by filing cases in the National Green Tribunal and courts and despite such obstacles the BRS government could complete 90% of the works.

Mr. Uttam Reddy’s statement that the previous government had failed to secure are clearances to SRLIS was indicating his lack of understanding. He said it was the inefficiency of the present government which could not give water for irrigation even one acre ayacut afresh during the last 18 months.

The BRS leader sought to know whether Rajiv Sagar and Indira Sagar projects were not taken up to benefit more to A.P. rather than Telangana and the SRLIS would cover the 3.33 lakh acres ayacut proposed under the two projects. Compared to the two projects taken up by the previous Congress government, the SRLIS was taken up to avail 70.4 tmc ft water against 33 tmc ft for the previous projects.