Ready To Talk With AP On Banakacharla: Telangana CM

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy today announced that the State government intended to reach out to the Andhra Pradesh government to discuss the Banakacharla project and resolve the issue amicably between the two States.

Speaking informally to media persons in New Delhi, Reddy said that the resolution could be achieved only through dialogue.

"There will be a Cabinet meeting on June 23. I plan to raise this issue during the meeting and, if necessary, will extend an invitation to the Andhra Pradesh government for discussions. Our approach is to maintain cordial relations with Andhra Pradesh, just as we do with Karnataka," he said.

He said that several inter-State issues that existed before the formation of Telangana State remained unresolved due to the political machinations of the previous BRS government. He accused the party of exploiting public sentiment and obstructing progress, particularly by using the Godavari water dispute to regain its lost political ground.

Reddy specifically criticised former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and former Irrigation Minister Harish Rao for failing to safeguard Telangana's interests in irrigation matters, claiming that these issues stemmed from decisions made as early as 2016.

"The Andhra Pradesh government issued GOs in 2016 and 2018. Why didn't the Telangana government pursue legal action or conduct surveys back then?" he asked, and reiterated that the BRS was using the water issue as a last resort for its political survival in Telangana.

Reddy also accused the BRS government of mismanaging irrigation projects by renaming them and inflating their costs to accommodate commissions. He also said that only 50,000 acres of land were newly irrigated under the Kaleshwaram project. The project, which had an estimated total budget of Rs 2 lakh crore, invited tenders worth Rs 1,27,872 crore, out of which Rs 96,000 crore had already been spent. An additional Rs 50,000 crore were still required to complete the project, he said.

He also alleged that Union Minister and BJP Telangana State President Kishan Reddy acted as a mediator for BRS leader K T Rama Rao, and claimed that the BJP secured eight Lok Sabha seats in Telangana with the BRS' support.