Naidu Obstructed Babli Talks: Ponnala

Minister For Major Irrigation Ponnala Lakshmaiah, on Monday, put the blame squarely on former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu for creating hurdles in the proposed talks between Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh over various issues.

Talking to media persons, Lakshmaiah said that the campaign by the former chief minister over the Babli issue had created hurdles for the State government in the way of claiming compensation or water for the Prahahita-Chevella project.

The minister lashed out against Babu, and said that the TDP leader had created a scene in Maharashtra for his political gains, and that the side effect of this had been the postponement of talks with the neighbouring state which were scheduled to place on January 20th.

Lakshmaiah revealed that over 6,140 acres of land were under submergence in both the states under the Babli irrigation project, of which 526 acres were in Andhra Pradesh. He said that the State government had prepared a report for payment of compensation.

A meeting had been scheduled on January 20th to submit the report, but the Maharashtra government was now evasive over this meeting. Further, another meeting between district Collectors and superintendent engineers from the 2 states was expected to take place, but that, too, had not materialised.

In this connection, Ponnala requested the Maharashtra officials to meet and talk in the interest of the farmers and on humanitarian grounds. He stated that the postponement would have an adverse affect on the State.

The minister stated that under the Krishna and Godavari basins, a huge amount of water was going waste and this gave rise to the need for harnessing rain water. Though there was 30% excess rainfall, the State is utilising only 780 tmc of water, whereas 4,219 tmc drained into the sea.

Under the Krishna basin, 312 tmc of water joined the sea while 192 tmc was saved. Under the Godavari basin, 3758 tmc water drained into the sea while only 260 tmc was stored, and under Vamsadhara, 49 tmc has been wasted while 12 tmc was used.

Lakshmaiah said that this proved the significance of the Jalayagnam project as it could utilise the water to the fullest capacity.

The minister highlighted the importance of Jalayagnam and said that Babu had been criticising the State government in this respect only for gaining political mileage and did not see the vital role of this massive project.

Lakshmaiah said the government was coming out with a master plan to harness the excess rainfall in the State. Citing an example, he said that the Ramappa Tank in Warangal district had dried up despite good rains and he saw the need to connect streams and small canals to divert the water into the tanks for better utility of rain water.

Courtesy: INN