‘Will quit if Cong proves charges’
KCR: Will use TS share of Godavari water
Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao said that he would resign if the Congress party showed proof of any agreement that the erstwhile Congress government of unified Andhra Pradesh had entered into with Maharashtra over the utilization of Godavari waters.
Replying to the discussion on Appropriation Bill on Monday in the State Assembly here, the Chief Minister countered the allegation of Congress Floor leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka that the government had failed to protect the rights of Telangana and conceded to the demands of upper riparian state Maharashtra by cutting down the height of the Kaleshwaram project.
He challenged the Congress floor leader to show proof of any agreement that the erstwhile Congress government had entered into with Maharashtra, saying, “I will resign from the Chief Minister’s post if you show me an agreement the Congress government entered into with Maharashtra. TRS government gave utmost priority to irrigation and had several rounds of talks with the Maharashtra Chief Minister on Kaleshwaram.”
He said, “I invited Chief Ministers of Maharashtra
and Andhra Pradesh for the inauguration of Kaleshwaram project, which is an indication that none of them had any objection to Telangana utilising its rightful share.”
Mr Rao reiterated that the state government resolved to fully utilise Telangana’s share in Godavari river waters for benefit of state. All steps were taken to utilise 530 tmc of water by next year, he said, adding, “The State was inching forward to fully utilize 950 tmc of our share in Godavari waters.” “While 530 tmc of water will come from Kaleshwaram, Devadula and Sitarama projects will yield another 75 tmc and 175 tmc respectively, to
facilitate irrigation of one crore acres of land in Telangana. This increased acreage will result in increase in incomes of farmers,” the CM said.
With regard to Kaleshwaram, Mr Rao said that steps have been taken to lift three tmc of water (from the present two) to mid Manair and two tmc to Mallannasagar, making the dream of filling Kondapochamma at the earliest.
He took exception to Congress party’s allegations that his government had not followed norms while taking up irrigation projects and had not submitted a detailed project reports to the House for scrutiny.