Former Telangana minister T Harish Rao has alleged that proposed changes to the Godavari-Cauvery link project could reduce the state’s access to Godavari water, intensifying a wider dispute over the route, allocation and governance of inter-state water infrastructure.
Addressing a media conference at Telangana Bhavan on Saturday, Rao claimed that the National Water Development Agency has scheduled discussions on the project for its November 3 meeting in New Delhi. He alleged that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had written to the Centre on October 7 seeking to shift the proposed alignment from the earlier Ichampally-Sammakka Sagar route to Polavaram.
According to Rao, the proposed Polavaram-Bollapalli route would bypass Telangana and could affect benefits envisaged under the earlier alignment. He said the original route through Ichampally and Nagarjuna Sagar was expected to support irrigation across more than 2.38 lakh acres in the erstwhile Warangal, Nalgonda and Ranga Reddy districts.
Rao further claimed that the Godavari-Cauvery link project involves the proposed diversion of 148 TMC of water, of which Telangana’s allocated share is 43 TMC. He warned that the state’s entitlement could be compromised if the revised alignment is approved. The claims were reported by the Times of India and were not accompanied in the supplied report by the text of the alleged October 7 letter or an official response from the Centre, Andhra Pradesh or Telangana governments.
The dispute places the project at the intersection of river-linking policy and state-level water planning. Any change in alignment can affect which regions receive water, the infrastructure required to convey it and the administrative arrangements needed to operate pumping and irrigation systems. In Telangana, Rao said the consequences could extend beyond farm irrigation to drinking-water and industrial supply.
Rao also demanded that the Centre withdraw the proposed changes, protect Telangana’s water rights and ensure that any river-linking project does not compromise the state’s interests. He called for an all-party delegation to inspect major pump houses and review the functioning of lift-irrigation projects across Telangana.
The former minister separately alleged that the state administration had failed to operate lift-irrigation schemes, including Devadula, Kalwakurthy and Kannepally, at full capacity. He described the current water scarcity as a “man-made drought” and argued that improved planning and operation of existing infrastructure could have reduced the pressure.
Rao also accused the Telangana government of remaining silent on Andhra Pradesh’s demands and alleged that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy had surrendered the state’s interests to Naidu. The political allegations were part of his broader demand for a review of the proposed project alignment and the functioning of Telangana’s irrigation assets.
The next reported milestone is the NWDA discussion scheduled for November 3 in New Delhi. The project’s proposed route, the status of the alleged request to shift the alignment and the basis for Telangana’s claimed 43 TMC share remain central issues for clarification before any change is considered.
