The CPM AP state committee has expressed dissatisfaction that the meeting of the Chief Ministers of the Telugu states held in Delhi on Wednesday on Banakacherla is further complicating the water disputes with the help of the central government.
The meeting held in the presence of Union Water Resources Minister CR Patil did not resolve the Banakacherla project dispute, but stirred up the disputes over the Godavari and Krishna river waters, said state secretary V. Srinivasa Rao. He expressed concern that anything that happens contrary to what is mentioned in the State Reorganization Act will harm the interests of the state, and this committee should act in accordance with that decision.
He demanded that an all-party meeting be held immediately and the details of the meeting of the Chief Ministers held in Delhi and the procedures of the expert committee be clarified to the people. He mentioned the fact that the coalition government has been making a big fuss for the last few months that the Banakacherla project will be constructed in three years with a proposal of Rs. 82,000 crore.
He said that there were reports in the media that the objections raised by the Telangana government would be resolved through the intervention of the central government, but the CPM regrets that it was not discussed in this meeting either. He said that the Telangana government has been expressing objections on the issue of Krishna waters for a long time and is demanding that it should have half of this water.
Srinivasa Rao said that our state government has also recently criticized the Telangana government for drawing water below the minimum water level from the Srisailam project in the name of power generation. He mentioned that the state government has been saying that the Polavaram- Banakacherla project will be constructed to increase irrigation resources in Rayalaseema by diverting Godavari flood waters and stabilizing the Krishna ayacut.
He recalled that the CPM had demanded pending projects be completed before that, saying that Banakacherla was a burden. He explained that the Polavaram Project Authority had also concluded that the Banakacherla project was impossible. He alleged that the Centre has complicated the issue of Krishna and Godavari waters by relying on the state government’s appeal on the issue of forest fires.
He said that it is regrettable that the state government is making a fuss while the central government is complicating a problem that should be resolved amicably between the two states. He demanded that the projects in the backward areas be completed by focusing on the problems.