Bharat Rashtra Samithi senior leader and former irrigation minister T. Harish Rao warned on Saturday in Hyderabad that a proposed realignment of the Godavari-Cauvery river linking project directly threatens Telangana’s sovereign water entitlements, characterizing the move as a death warrant for the state.

Interstate River Feud Reaches National Agency Agenda

Addressing a press conference alongside former ministers Gangula Kamalakar and Satyavathi Rathod, Harish Rao asserted that an alarming conspiracy is actively taking shape against Telangana under the guise of national river interlinking. The dispute escalated dramatically following an October 7 formal communication sent by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to the central government. In the letter, Andhra Pradesh sought approval to draw water for the inter-basin project straight from the Polavaram project site and requested its immediate inclusion in the agenda for the National Water Development Agency meeting scheduled for November 3.

Harish Rao revealed that the technical consensus reached a decade ago by all participating beneficiary states mandated that Godavari water diversion to the southern basin should originate from Ichampally within Telangana. Bypassing that consensus to transfer water directly downriver strips Telangana of its fair geographic and riparian advantages, according to the former irrigation minister.

All the beneficiary States had agreed 10 years ago that water should be taken from Telangana — from Ichampally. But, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu wants Telangana not to get benefit from the link.

A Troubling Pattern of Water Diversion Maneuvers

Detailing what he termed a persistent campaign by the Andhra Pradesh leadership to siphon off river resources, Harish Rao outlined a sequence of shifting proposals aimed at extracting massive volumes of Godavari water. He pointed out that Andhra Pradesh initially floated the Polavaram-Banakacherla route to draw 200 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft) of water, later rebranding the initiative under the name Nallamalasagar.

Having now secured central consideration through the National Water Development Agency, the current plan seeks to channel river flows directly out of Polavaram via Bollapalli, Nagarjunasagar, and Somasila before reaching the Cauvery basin. Harish Rao expressed profound shock that the central machinery accommodated the request on its upcoming November 3 agenda without protecting Telangana’s prior claims, directly demanding that Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy intervene immediately to prevent an irreversible political and agrarian catastrophe.

Severe Livelihood Stakes in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

The intensifying standoff carries profound regional consequences for both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where millions of farmers depend on the Godavari basin to sustain staple crops across drought-vulnerable districts. Any unilateral revision of river-linking intakes threatens agricultural livelihoods across the region and fuels bitter geopolitical volatility between the neighboring Telugu states, destabilizing fragile water-sharing agreements negotiated over decades.

Looming Drought and Infrastructure Neglect

Compounding the water security dispute, Harish Rao condemned the state administration’s handling of acute agrarian distress. Although the regional opposition repeatedly sounded warnings about the harsh impacts of the El Nino weather phenomenon and urged authorities to operate heavy lift irrigation stations, the government failed to act prudently.

Critical pump infrastructure across key projects was left idle during crucial agricultural windows. Harish Rao disclosed that at the Devadula project, the administration operated only three pumps out of 10, inflicting avoidable drought damage across the combined Warangal district. Furthermore, the Kalwakurthy lift irrigation project was permitted to lift a mere 13 tmc ft of water, falling shockingly short of its proven technical operational capability of lifting 45 tmc ft. Neglecting existing installations like the Kaleshwaram and Palamuru-Rangareddy pumphouses while interstate river flows are rerouted elsewhere poses an unprecedented threat to the heartland’s irrigation security.