The Telangana government will move the Supreme Court against two major river interlinking projects proposed by the Andhra Pradesh government the Godavari-Banakacherla Link Scheme and the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (RLIS) an official statement from the state irrigation ministry said on Saturday.
The decision was taken at a high-level review meeting convened by irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy at Jala Soudha in Hyderabad on Friday. It comes a day after the Andhra Pradesh cabinet, chaired by chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, approved the Polavaram-Banakacharla link project.
“We shall hold a special meeting with legal experts, standing counsels of the irrigation department, and the advocate general to chalk out the strategy to file a petition in the Supreme Court,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said. It comes a day after the Andhra Pradesh cabinet, chaired by chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, approved the Polavaram-Banakacharla link project.
The minister said the Polavaram-Banakacharla link project directly violates the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) Award of 1980 and the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act (APRA) of 2014.
The meeting decided that the Telangana government would also challenge the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (RLIS), taken up during the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government in August 2020, to provide assured water to 1.9 million acres in four districts of Rayalaseema – Kadapa, Kurnool, Anantapur and Chittoor.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said Telangana would firmly contest both the schemes in court to safeguard its rightful share in Godavari and Krishna river waters, as they violate established water-sharing agreements and pose a serious threat to Telangana’s irrigation projects and drinking water requirements.
He stated that the projects were being taken up unilaterally by Andhra Pradesh without approval from the appropriate regulatory authorities. “The Telangana Government would not remain a silent spectator and would raise the issue in the Supreme Court to prevent any illegal construction or diversion of water,” he said
The Polavaram-Banakacharla link project , which is estimated to cost ₹80,112 crore, involves the diversion of 200 tmc (thousand million cubic feet) of water from the Godavari river at Polavaram to Rayalaseema through the Bollapalli reservoir and Banakacherla head regulator. The proposal seeks to interlink the Godavari, Krishna, and Penna rivers.
The Andhra Pradesh cabinet approved the establishment of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) named Jala Harathi Corporation, a 100% government-owned company, to implement and complete the Polavaram-Banacherla link project.
The RLIS project, costing ₹3,278 crore, will draw three tmc ft of water per day from Srisailam reservoir near Sangameshwaram and pump it into the Srisailam right main canal (SRMC), that will feed various irrigation canals in the four districts.
As part of the legal preparation, a special meeting will be convened shortly with legal experts, Standing Counsels of the Irrigation Department, and the Advocate General to chalk out the strategy to file a petition in the Supreme Court.
Reddy pointed out that Andhra Pradesh has not secured mandatory clearances from the Central Water Commission (CWC), the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB), the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB), or the Apex Council for the the Polavaram-Banakacharla link project.
He said Andhra Pradesh is trying to use Sections 46(2) and 46(3) of APRA, which allow for the development of backward regions, to secure Central funds. However, he warned that such provisions cannot override the requirement for statutory approvals and environmental safeguards.
Telangana had earlier raised strong objections to the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (RLIS), which is aimed at drawing water from the Krishna river basin. As a result of continuous efforts, the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) ruled in February that Andhra Pradesh must restore the RLIS site to its pre-construction stage.
The committee stated that Andhra Pradesh had violated environmental norms and must provide photographic evidence, details of restoration, and timelines before reapplying for environmental clearance. The EAC’s decision followed multiple representations by Telangana at the National Green Tribunal, Supreme Court, MoEF&CC, and other platforms.