The proposed Godavari-Cauvery river-linking route has triggered a political dispute in Telangana, with BRS leader and former irrigation minister T. Harish Rao warning that Andhra Pradesh’s proposal could bypass the state and threaten its expected share of water and planned irrigation benefits.
Speaking at a press conference, Harish Rao urged the Telangana government not to accept the route proposed by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. He questioned the silence of Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy ahead of a November 3 meeting of the National Water Development Agency in Delhi, where the proposal is listed for discussion.
According to Harish Rao, Naidu wrote to the Centre on October 7 seeking that the river link be taken up from Polavaram in Andhra Pradesh. The BRS leader said the proposal was subsequently included in the NWDA meeting agenda. These claims were made by Harish Rao during the press conference and were not accompanied in the report by the text of the letter or the meeting agenda.
Harish Rao said the proposed route would carry water from Polavaram to the Cauvery through Bollapalli in Andhra Pradesh, bypassing Inchampalli and Nagarjunasagar in Telangana. He contrasted this with an earlier route through Telangana, which he said would have supported irrigation across 2,38,236 acres in the undivided districts of Warangal, Nalgonda and Rangareddy.
He also said Telangana was expected to receive 43 tmc ft of Godavari water through the river-linking project, but claimed that this allocation was now under threat because of Andhra Pradesh’s proposal. The report did not include an independent confirmation of the proposed allocation, the revised route’s water-sharing terms or the Centre’s formal position on the matter.
The dispute reflects the administrative complexity of inter-state water infrastructure, where route selection can determine which states receive irrigation benefits, how water is conveyed and which agencies must coordinate construction and allocation. Any change in alignment would therefore have implications not only for engineering works, but also for command-area planning and the distribution of water among participating states.
Harish Rao linked the current proposal to an earlier plan involving the Polavaram-Banakacherla link, which he said was intended to transfer 200 tmc ft of water and was later renamed the Nallamalasagar project. He alleged that the latest Godavari-Cauvery proposal represented another attempt to move Godavari water through Andhra Pradesh while excluding Telangana.
The BRS leader called on the Telangana government to oppose the proposal and protect the state’s water interests. He also issued political warnings against the Congress and BJP if the government did not respond. The report did not carry a response from the Telangana government, Andhra Pradesh government, the Centre or the NWDA.
The next formal development is expected at the NWDA meeting in Delhi on November 3, when the proposed route and the positions of the concerned states are due to be discussed.
