Telugu States need to avoid disputes over sharing of water, says Chandrababu Naidu

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has said he is not ready for disputes with neighbouring Telangana over sharing the Godavari river water as he is keen to reap benefits for Andhra Pradesh with judicious use of water.

Addressing the gathering of farmers during ‘Mee Bhoomi – Mee Hakku’ at Rayavaram village in Mandapeta Assembly constituency in East Godavari district on Friday, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu said, “The Telugu States will reap no benefit if they get involved in disputes over water sharing.”

“The Opposition in the State wants disputes over water. However, I prefer water rather than disputes over water. The proposed interlinking of rivers will be possible only after Polavaram irrigation project is commissioned. In future, Telangana will also benefit from the interlinking of rivers,” said Mr. Chandrababu Naidu.

“I will strive for the benefit of the people of Andhra Pradesh. Godavari river is a huge source of water. The Opposition lamented that Pattiseema Lift Irrigation scheme will make the Godavari region a desert. But in reality, it enabled supply of water from Srisailam to drought-prone Rayalaseema and will help it emerge as a hub for horticulture,” the Chief Minister said.

Mr. Naidu further claimed that he would strive for making the Rayalaseema region a horticulture hub for the entire country. There would be no scarcity of water in the entire Godavari region and Visakhapatnam if the Polavaram irrigation project is commissioned and would also lead to further linking of the Vamsadhara river.

Talking about dispute redressal, he said 80% of the grievances are from the Revenue Department, and appealed to families not to get into disputes or legal battles over land.

“The mistakes in over 1.18 lakh passbooks have been corrected based on the re-survey and over 2.79 lakh grievances pertaining to land records have been addressed and disposed of,” Mr. Naidu said.

The ongoing distribution of pattadar passbooks under Mee Bhumi - Mee Hakku would guarantee documentation of land records without any dispute permanently, he added.

Later, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu conducted an aerial survey of the Mori-5 well, owned by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, in Malkipuram mandal of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district. On January 5, a blowout of natural gas was reported in the well during the workover exercise and it was mostly contained by Friday.

Mr. Naidu inquired about the environment impact and damage to the local ecosystem due to blowout during an interaction with the ONGC authorities.

In an official release, ONGC Rajahmundry Asset authorities have claimed that the Mori-5 well head area has been accessed by Friday to speed up the capping of the well as part of the blowout action plan.