BRS flays Centre’s decision to fund A.P.’s Polavaram-Banakacherla Link Project

T. Harish Rao
| Photo Credit: MOHD ARIF

HYDERABAD

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has criticised the Centre’s decision to fund 50% of funds required for the execution of Polavaram-Banakacherla Link Project to divert Godavari water to the Krishna and Penna Basins without mandatory clearances and to allow Andhra Pradesh to mobilise the remaining 50% funds by borrowing loans beyond Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act limits.

The Centre’s move was nothing but allowing A.P. to undertake illegal water diversion in violation of Telangana’s riparian rights, senior leader of the BRS T. Harish Rao said, alleging that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and his Cabinet colleagues were maintaining silence. He requested the Chief Minister to oppose A.P.’s illegal project in every possible way.

Mr. Rao reminded the Centre, A.P. and Telangana governments that as per the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act provisions, it was mandatory to get clearance from the river management boards established under the Act for taking up new projects in the Krishna or Godavari Basins. “The Centre was unfortunately encouraging the violators by providing funds”, Mr. Harish Rao said in a statement.

The BJP-led government was doing grave injustice to Telangana, he said and questioned the silence of Congress and BJP leaders of Telangana, including their 16 Parliament members, and two Union Ministers from the State.

Step-motherly treatment

He stated that the Centre had cut Telangana’s borrowing limit under FRBM in lieu of the loans taken from the Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) for executing the Kaleshwaram Project. However, A.P. is being allowed to borrow loans for the Polavaram-Banakacherla Link Project beyond the FRBM limits, indicating the Centre’s step-motherly treatment to Telangana.

He recollected that it was the Congress that had allowed injustice to Telangana when the rulers of combined A.P. diverted Krishna water illegally by expanding Pothireddypadu Head Regulator to draw water from Srisailam to meet the needs in the non-basin areas at the cost of in-basin areas of Telangana. It was the Congress again now which was allowing illegal diversion of Godavari water.