Naidu Sabotaging Palamur, Dindi Projects: Harish Rao

In spite of a year passed having after the united state's bifurcation, AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was still hatching conspiracies against Telangana's development, Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao alleged.

Addressing mediapersons at Telangana Bhavan on Friday, the minister slammed his AP counterpart Devineni Uma Maheshwara Rao for trying to create hurdles for the Palamur Lift Irrigation project and the Dindi project saying the Telangana Government had no permission for the projects.

Harish Rao accused the Naidu government of coming in the way of Telangana's plans to complete an irrigation project in the backward Palamur district noted for migration of labour in search of livelihood.

Naidu, who had adopted the district, had failed to develop it, and only added to the migration issue, he alleged.

The minister sought to know whether the AP government had completed all the formalities for Handri-Neeva, Pothireddypadu, Pattiseema and Polavaram.

The Naidu government was also raising objections to the Palamur Ranga Reddy lift scheme through the Krishna river, a project which fell under the HMDA limits.

"When Madras, the capital city of the neighboring Tamil Nadu, can get Krishna waters, why not Palamur district?" he asked.

Ridiculing Uma Maheshwara Rao's remarks against the two projects, Harish Rao said that as per the Bachawat Tribunal, Telangana would get 40 TMC of water from any project. He also criticized Naidu saying the latter had managed to get permissions from the Centre for the Polavaram project by violating norms despite objections from Odisha and Chattisgarh.

He pointed out that while the then YSR government had prepared a detailed report for the Dindi project, the Kiran Kumar Reddy government had issued a GO for the survey of the Palamur scheme.

"We are taking up these old projects to provide irrigation and drinking water to three districts, and Naidu is unhappy at this development," he charged.

Harish Rao also asked the Telangana TD leaders L Ramana and Errabelli Dayakar Rao whether they supported the two projects for the Telangana people or remained henchmen of Naidu who was bent on creating hurdles for these projects. (NSS)