Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy met to discuss the issues concerning the two States amicably. They also decided to submit a preliminary report by 15 July on how they can utilise available river waters together. The two leaders were accompanied by officials of their respective governments.
Rao said since there was a qualitative change in the two State’s relationship, they had decided to move forward with complete awareness and understanding. He also opined that people in both the States were theirs.
Both the CMs decided to provide water to people of the States at a lower cost and that water issues regarding irrigation sector would be solved with the best and simple methods.
Rao further said the availability of water was going down in Krishna river and may get reduced even more in the coming years. So both the governments have resolved to utilise water from Godavari river to mitigate water problems in Rayalaseema region in AP and Palamuru Nalgonda areas in Telangana.
KCR, who gave a power point presentation on water availability in rivers of both States, said water is not adequately available in lower riparian states due to many barrages built on tributaries of rivers in upper riparian states like Karnataka and Maharashtra.
The CM proposed ways to utilise water from Krishna and Godavari rivers aided by Google Maps. “If both states think and walk together, it is enough. It is enough if both states have unanimity on utilisation of water in the two rivers for the benefit of people in both states,” Rao said.
A senior Andhra Pradesh government official said senior engineers of both states would work together on how to divert Godavari water to the Srisailam project. The official also said Chief Secretaries of both states, along with advisors of the respective governments, would meet today to sort out administrative issues on employees transfers and asset sharing.
This is the first ever meeting between Chief Ministers of AP and Telangana without the Centre’s intervention after Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated in June 2014. Rao and his then Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu met in Delhi in September 2016 when the then union water resources minister Uma Bharti convened a meeting on Krishna and Godavari river water related issues and various projects on them.