Harish Rao slams Revanth, Uttam over Krishna water share
Hyderabad: Chief minister A. Revanth Reddy and irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy have offered differing accounts of Telangana’s entitlement from Krishna river waters, drawing sharp criticism from local leaders.
Contradictory figures on Krishna river entitlement
Uttam Kumar Reddy, the water resources minister, repeated his long-standing stance that Telangana is seeking 763 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) from the Krishna basin. He claimed he personally attended tribunal proceedings to secure the right share.
The chief minister, however, has given different figures at different times. On 18 June 2025 he reportedly offered then-chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu a “blanket NOC” for 500 TMC from the Krishna basin so that other projects could be built, the critic said. In a later review of the irrigation department held on 13 September, the chief minister is said to have claimed Telangana had secured 904 TMC. These contrasting numbers 500, 763 and 904 TMC have left observers asking which figure represents the state’s official position.
“The Congress party’s conduct looks like the killer itself organising a condolence meeting,” the critic said, accusing the party of inconsistency and betrayal on water rights.
BRS recalls Congress ‘historic betrayal’
The speaker charged that by accepting a 299 TMC allotment to Telangana under earlier settlements, the Congress had committed a historic wrong. He said the 299:512 split recorded in the 2013 report to the Sri Krishna Commission clearly shows Telangana was allocated 299 TMC and Andhra Pradesh 512 TMC, and that this amounted to an unjust, “death sentence” for Telangana’s water rights under the joint state arrangement.
The critic recalled the agitation under K. Chandrashekar Rao and the effort to secure “Section 3” terms from the tribunal and the Supreme Court. He said the 763 TMC figure was the outcome KCR had fought for, and accused present Congress leaders of pretending to newly demand the same figure for publicity.
Sammakka Sagar and Almatti height dispute
On the Sammakka Sagar (Sammakka Saralamma barrage) project, the speaker said the Bharat Rashtra Samithi government completed the scheme while the Congress is indulging in “showy” publicity. He rejected the claim that the Congress obtained permissions, saying only an in-principle accord for roughly 50 acres’ submergence had been discussed with Chhattisgarh and that full clearances were secured earlier under the BRS government.
The critic also accused the Congress of silence on neighbouring states’ actions. He alleged the party stayed quiet over Banakacherla and now remains mute over Karnataka’s proposal to raise Almatti Dam’s level from about 519 to 524 metres. He described any such rise, done to increase capacity, as a threat that could reduce Telangana’s rightful share and turn irrigated districts into arid tracts.
“If the chief minister fails to protect Telangana’s water rights and stop this looting, history will record him without honour,” he said.
The critic demanded clarity: “Which is correct — the chief minister’s figure, the water minister’s figure, or neither? They speak differently at every hour. This ignorance will cost Telangana its rightful water share.”
