The Telangana government has intensified efforts to block Andhra Pradesh’s proposed Polavaram–Banakacherla (Nallamala Sagar) expansion project on the Godavari river by holding consultations with senior legal experts. A writ petition filed by the state challenging the project is scheduled to come up for hearing in the Supreme Court on Monday.

In this backdrop, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy met senior Supreme Court advocate Abhishek Singhvi in Mumbai on Sunday. They discussed legal strategy and asked the legal team to present strong and effective arguments on behalf of Telangana. Irrigation department officials were also directed to keep all necessary documents and evidence ready.

Recently, the Telangana government approached the Supreme Court seeking an immediate halt to Andhra Pradesh’s expansion works linking Polavaram to Banakacherla or Nallamala Sagar, alleging that the works are being taken up without mandatory statutory approvals. The state has urged the court to direct the Polavaram Project Authority to stop these activities forthwith.

In its petition, Telangana maintained that the Polavaram project must be executed strictly as per the scope originally approved, and that any expansion or additional link projects are illegal. It objected to the Centre examining pre-feasibility reports of the Nallamala Sagar project without considering Telangana’s objections, calling the process unjustified.

The state has sought clear directions from the Supreme Court to the Central Water Commission (CWC), the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti, and the Godavari River Management Board on the issue. It also alleged that Andhra Pradesh is moving ahead with preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) in violation of CWC guidelines and demanded that such actions be stopped immediately.

Further, Telangana has requested the court to ensure that no environmental clearances are granted to these expansion projects and that no financial assistance is extended by the Centre until the matter is resolved in accordance with law.