Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh has questioned the objections raised by Telangana over the proposed Banakacharla project, accusing certain political groups of inciting regional hatred among the Telugu people of both states for political gain.
Demanding a discussion on the Banakacharla project, Lokesh claimed that the Kaleshwaram Project constructed during the BRS regime did not have the required nod from the regulatory body, yet the TDP government in Andhra Pradesh refrained from raising any objections.
Lokesh seemed to be taking a dig at the BRS, which has been quite vocal against the Banakacharla project through which the TDP government intends to draw excess water from the river Godavari and provide it to the parched lands of Rayalaseema.
Recently, the Union government facilitated a meeting between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, but the former refused to discuss the Banakacharla project.
Objecting to the letters sent by the Telangana government against the project, Nara Lokesh wondered, “Why is it a problem if surplus water is taken to Rayalaseema? For that matter, how was Kaleshwaram built without the regulatory body? Some people are trying to incite regional hatreds for political gain and create discord among the Telugus. Have we ever stopped investments in Telangana?”
The minister for IT and Human Resources Development said that AP did not write a single letter against Kaleshwaram because “the Telugu community would benefit from this project.”
Demanding a discussion on the Banakacharla project, which is part of the ambitious river linking scheme, Lokesh pointed out that Telangana was the upper riparian state while AP was the lower riparian one, through which the Godavari flowed before joining the sea. He said, “It is not right to incite regional hatred for the sake of politics.
The Banakacharla project is on AP’s territory. Is there one policy for Telangana and one for AP? Are we taking Telangana’s water? We want a full-fledged discussion on Banakacharla.”
AP chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu wants to bring floodwaters of the Godavari River to the Krishna Basin and then to the Pennar basin. However, objections to the project have been raised even from the civil society organisations in AP. Even some experts objected to the proposal, pointing out that there was no excess water in the Godavari.