KCR & Harish's Signatures: Telangana's Death Warrant, blasts Revanth

In a fiery address following a detailed PowerPoint presentation on Krishna and Godavari river basin issues at Praja Bhavan on Thursday, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy lambasted the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government for inflicting severe injustices on Telangana over the past decade, particularly in water allocation and irrigation projects. Emphasizing that the Telangana statehood movement was fundamentally driven by the quest for water rights, CM Reddy accused former CM K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) and his nephew T. Harish Rao of signing agreements that effectively became a "death warrant" for the state. 

He highlighted the skewed Krishna River water-sharing formula agreed upon by the BRS, which allocated only 299 TMC to Telangana—merely 34% of the total—while granting Andhra Pradesh 512 TMC or 66% permanent rights. This, CM argued, stemmed from impulsive decisions that allowed excess water to flow to Andhra Pradesh without Telangana's interests being safeguarded.

Revanth criticized the redesign of the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme, alleging it was altered to facilitate massive commissions, leading to cost escalations from ₹32,000 crore to over ₹80,000 crore, unpaid bills of ₹20,000 crore, and the absence of a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for years. He claimed this created legal grounds for Andhra Pradesh to challenge Telangana and accused KCR of never advocating for a fair 550 TMC share in Apex Council meetings. In stark terms, CM stated that even if KCR and Harish Rao were "hanged" for their actions, it would not be unjust, likening their betrayal to crimes warranting severe punishments in Middle Eastern countries, though he stressed adherence to India's democratic processes.

He dismissed BRS's false propaganda on projects as a desperate bid for political revival post-election defeats, vowing to table all documents in the assembly to expose the "looting" and corruption, including in the Kaleshwaram project where pump increases allegedly correlated with higher commissions. Revanth assured that his government is exerting intense pressure on Andhra Pradesh for Telangana's rightful share, engaging strategically in Delhi for funds and approvals, without politicizing the issue against neighbors.

Uttam counters BRS claims

Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy, who led the PowerPoint presentation attended by Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka, ministers, MPs, and MLAs, directly countered BRS claims on the Palamuru project. He refuted KCR's assertion of 90% completion under BRS, questioning how spending ₹27,000 crore on an ₹80,000 crore project could equate to such progress. Uttam noted the DPR was only submitted to the Central Water Commission in September 2022, after a seven-year delay since the 2015 approval, and excluded key costs like land acquisition.

He emphasized that no water reached lands under BRS rule, while the current Congress government has already invested ₹7,000 crore. Uttam accused KCR and Harish Rao of spreading lies to mislead the public, underscoring the presentation's aim to reveal truths about river water rights and basin management.