WATER WAR HEATS UP

CM Revanth Reddy and Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy are leading an all-party campaign against Andhra Pradesh’s Godavari-Banakacharla project

metro india news  I hyderabad

The Telangana government has intensified its opposition to the proposed Godavari-Banakacharla Link Project by the Andhra Pradesh government, citing grave concerns over potential violations of water-sharing agreements and risks to Telangana's water rights. The issue has now become a rallying point for political unity in the state, with Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy spearheading efforts to galvanise support across party lines.

The Godavari-Banakacharla project, proposed by Andhra Pradesh, aims to divert water from the Godavari River towards the Banakacharla head regulator near the Krishna river basin. Telangana leaders argue that this inter-basin transfer would drastically impact the state’s equitable share of Godavari waters, violating the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) Award of 1980 and the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act (APRA), 2014.

Preliminary analysis by Telangana’s irrigation officials suggests that the project could diminish water availability for key irrigation and drinking water schemes in the state. The Telangana government has accused the AP administration of bypassing mandatory inter-state consultations and environmental assessments.

In a bid to mount a unified front, the Telangana government has convened a high-level meeting with all Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members from the state, irrespective of party affiliation, at the Telangana Secretariat at 4 PM on June 18.

Telangana’s aggressive stance against the Banakacharla project marks a rare moment of political unity in the state, with the ruling Congress government extending an olive branch even to ideological opponents. By combining legal objections, environmental advocacy, and parliamentary mobilisation, the Revanth Reddy-led administration appears determined to block the project at every level—technical, legal, political, and diplomatic.

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy will attend the meeting as chief guest. At the same time, Union Ministers G. Kishan Reddy (Coal and Mines) and Bandi Sanjay (Home Affairs) have been personally invited by Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy as guests of honour. 

MPs from the BJP, BRS, and AIMIM have also been invited.

A PowerPoint presentation on the technical, legal, and environmental implications of the Banakacharla project will be delivered during the session. The goal is to evolve a consensus-based action plan that includes approaching national forums, legal recourse, and political advocacy in Parliament.

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, along with Uttam Kumar Reddy, had earlier met Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil on June 3 in New Delhi and voiced Telangana’s formal objections. Patil, in response, clarified that the DPR for the project had not yet been submitted, but assured that any such proposal would be evaluated in line with existing guidelines, tribunal verdicts, and inter-state agreements.

Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy has taken a strong line at the national level. In two strongly-worded letters addressed to Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil—on June 13 and earlier on January 22—he urged the Centre to reject the Pre-Feasibility Report (PFR) of the project and deny environmental clearances.

In the June 13 letter, he demanded that the Union Government block any submission of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and halt tendering or implementation activities. He accused Andhra Pradesh of deliberate violations of tribunal awards and termed the project legally untenable and detrimental to Telangana’s riparian interests.

Uttam also pointed out that the Godavari-Banakacharla scheme’s pre-feasibility report is currently under review by the Central Water Commission (CWC). He urged the ministry to summarily reject the proposal at the evaluation stage itself, warning of serious legal and inter-state consequences otherwise.

This isn't an isolated issue. Just a day earlier, on June 16, Uttam also wrote to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, urging the rejection of Andhra Pradesh's proposal for Terms of Reference (ToR) for the modified Polavaram Irrigation Project (PIP). He accused AP of consistently disregarding environmental regulations and undermining riparian rights.