Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy alleged that the maximum “water loot in Telangana” took place during BRS chief and former CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s tenure and claimed that KCR had “written a death warrant for Telangana projects by agreeing to unfavourable water-sharing arrangements.”
The CM claimed that KCR facilitated Andhra Pradesh’s “water exploitation” by effectively conceding 512 tmc out of 811 tmc of Krishna water to AP, leaving Telangana with just 299 tmc, which he termed as “writing a death sentence for Telangana.”
Mr. Revanth Reddy further alleged that during the BRS government’s tenure, even the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Palamuru–Rangareddy project was not properly submitted.
He reiterated that KCR had signed agreements accepting that Telangana needed only 299 tmc feet of Krishna water, which accounted for 34% of the water share, while the present government was fighting for a 71% share.
“No leader in the State’s history had committed the kind of 'betrayal' that KCR had,” he alleged while recalling how he had praised Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for taking up the Pattiseema project, which harmed Telangana’s interests. He showed a video clip of KCR speaking in the Assembly as the Chief Minister to support his claim.
The Chief Minister alleged that in the last 10 years, not a single new project was built on the Krishna river, despite spending nearly ₹2 lakh crore, and accused the previous government of paying inflated bills and collecting massive commissions. “All the irrigation projects on Krishna were taken up by the successive Congress governments and not a single project by the BRS,” he said.
Rejecting KCR’s claims of the Congress government not spending a rupee on the Palamuru Ranga Reddy Lift Irrigation Project, he said that ₹2,800 crore was spent in the last two years. As 10 years were wasted by the BRS, the rightful share of Krishna waters was not used by Telangana. On the other hand, KCR allowed AP to use more than its allocation, allowing new projects.
He said that had the BRS government drawn water from the Jurala project than shifting the withdrawal from Srisailam, the Palamuru–Rangareddy project would have been completed by now. But for KCR, irrigation projects were to benefit contractors rather than farmers, he alleged.