Harish Rao Challenges Revanth Reddy to Hand Over Irrigation Portfolio for Three Months

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and former Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao on Wednesday challenged Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to hand over the state's Irrigation portfolio to him for three months. Speaking during a detailed presentation at Telangana Bhavan in Hyderabad, Rao vowed to quit politics if he fails to fill major reservoirs like Yellampalli by utilizing available Godavari River floodwaters within that timeframe.

During his address, Rao accused the Congress-led state government of "criminal negligence" in managing the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme. He argued that the government has failed to utilize abundant flood flows despite drought-like conditions and the looming El Nino threat.

According to Rao, over 90,000 cusecs of water were flowing at the Medigadda barrage alongside substantial inflows at other barrages. He stated that the government should have immediately operated the Kannepalli and Devadula pump houses to fill reservoirs across Telangana instead of allowing water to flow downstream.

The BRSLP deputy leader claimed that nearly 90 percent of tanks in the erstwhile Warangal district have dried up because the government failed to operate the available pumps. He alleged that the Congress government is deliberately neglecting the Kaleshwaram project to discredit former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao for political motives.

In addition to the portfolio challenge, Rao dared the Chief Minister to produce documentary evidence supporting claims that previous Congress governments secured Maharashtra's approval for the proposed Tummidihatti project at a Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 152 metres. Rao declared he would resign immediately if such an agreement is made public, and demanded that the Chief Minister apologize to the public if he fails to produce it.

Rao also questioned why the Tummidihatti project was never executed despite the Congress being in power simultaneously at the Centre, in Maharashtra, and in undivided Andhra Pradesh for nearly a decade. He alleged that Rs 2,328 crore was misappropriated in the name of surveys and mobilization advances for the project without any tangible work being completed.

Defending the project's technical aspects, Rao dismissed the government's claims regarding technical objections to Kaleshwaram. He noted that a committee of retired engineers had not opposed the Medigadda barrage but had only suggested routing water from Medigadda to Yellampalli before pumping it to Mid Manair. He asserted that all statutory clearances for the Kaleshwaram project had been successfully obtained.