Congress said pact bad for Maha, signed under Governor’s pressure.
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The steps taken by Telangana and Maharashtra governments to construct irrigation projects will resolve a decades-old dispute on water utilization of Godavari river and its tributaries.
The state government will be signing agreements with Maharashtra government on these three barrages and other projects including Thummedi hatti, Medigada, said forest minister Jogu Ramanna.
Officials of the two States are expected to sign the agreement being termed historic by Telangana Government during the Godavari Inter-State Board meeting scheduled there, in which Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis along with a high-level team of Ministers and officials of that government will participate. He alleged that huge financial irregularities are being committed in the irrigation projects. The barrage, located 20 kilometres downstream of Kaleshwaram in Warangal district will irrigate 1.64 million acres in Telangana and 50,000 acres in Maharashtra with the help of four small lift irrigation projects.
The Chanaka-Korata project would be taken up jointly by Telangana and Maharashtra at 213 FRL on Penganga river with 105 tmc capacity. Telangana officials said the MoUs were turning into a final agreement between the two chief ministers. About 102 TMC of water would be utilized by Telangana, while Maharashtra would utilize 5 TMC. Maharashtra will get 60 kms of backwaters of the proposed project.
Expenses for all these projects will be borne by the Telangana govt and not a single village of Maharashtra will be submerged, he added.
In the wake of delay in interstate lower Penganga project works, the Maharashtra government on Monday gave permission to three barrages below the project.
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Speaking to India Today, Congress Leader and MLA Vijay Wadettivar said, “The Medigadda Barrage will destroy the farmers completely. Maharashtra stands to lose to Telangana and the pact is signed only under the pressure from the Maharashtra Governor, who is from Telangana”.
