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The Andhra Pradesh government on Sunday, January 4, rejected Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy's claim that the coalition government in the state halted the Rayalaseema Lift Project at his request.
The Telugu Desam Party-led government termed as "factually incorrect and misleading" the remarks made by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy in the Telangana Legislative Assembly on Saturday night while replying to a debate on Krishna waters.
The Andhra Pradesh government said that there is no truth in Revanth Reddy's claim that the project was stopped at his request and out of respect by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
CM Revanth Reddy stated in the Assembly that he brought pressure on Chandrababu Naidu and the Union government to stop the Rayalaseema project.
He also claimed that he told Chandrababu Naidu that he would be ready to discuss any inter-state issue only if Andhra Pradesh stopped the Rayalaseema project, which was taking away three TMC of water every day.
The Telangana Chief Minister also offered to send a fact-finding committee comprising leaders of all parties, including opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), to verify if the project has stopped or not.
However, while rejecting the Telangana CM's claim, the Andhra Pradesh government stated the project's suspension had nothing to do with the present government's decisions or political considerations.
The state government pointed out that during the tenure of former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project was taken up without obtaining mandatory statutory approvals. Despite large-scale publicity claiming that three TMC feet of water per day would be supplied to Rayalaseema, works were initiated without clearances, it said.
The Andhra Pradesh government recalled that the Telangana government had challenged the project during the previous regime, filing cases in courts and lodging complaints with the Union government and the National Green Tribunal (NGT). Following these complaints, authorities examined the matter and ordered a halt to the works due to the absence of requisite permissions.
The government noted that as early as 2020, directions were issued by the NGT and the Union government regarding the project. It further asserted that the Union government had stopped the works well before the Chandrababu Naidu-led government assumed office in 2024.
The Andhra Pradesh government alleged that the political forces in Telangana were trying to derive mileage by running state politics in a "Chandrababu-centric" manner. It said such narratives were being pushed by both ruling and opposition parties there for political gain.
The NDA government made it clear that there would be no compromise on the state's water rights or on irrigation benefits for Rayalaseema.
The NDA government said that it would soon place all facts, supported by documentary evidence, in the public domain regarding the project's initiation, lack of approvals and the reasons behind the suspension of works.