Revanth Reddy Takes the Tummidihatti Fight to Mumbai

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is set to meet his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai on Monday to resolve the long-pending dispute over the Tummidihatti barrage across the Pranahita river.

Revanth Reddy left for Mumbai on Sunday, accompanied by Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy. The trip follows a public row. Revanth Reddy had accused Fadnavis of denying him an appointment to discuss the issue. Now the two leaders are finally sitting down.

Much is riding on the outcome. The Congress government has maintained that the barrage is the most viable way to secure water beyond Kaleshwaram. Yet three years have passed, and the government has not yet convinced Maharashtra to approve the project.

The Height That Divides Two States

Telangana has been urging Maharashtra to approve construction of the Tummidihatti barrage at a height that sets the Full Reservoir Level at 152 metres. The barrage sits on the Pranahita, a tributary of the River Godavari, which makes the project a question of river management as well as state-to-state diplomacy.

Much is at stake for the Congress government, which has maintained that constructing the Tummidihatti barrage is the most viable solution to secure water beyond Kaleshwaram.

Maharashtra has expressed concern about the submergence of villages if the barrage is built at that height. Telangana rejects the claim that any villages in Maharashtra would be submerged. Its position is that a Full Reservoir Level of 152 metres would submerge only 2,300 acres. At 150 metres, it argues, the affected area would be less than 1,000 acres.

A Lower Height, A Smaller Share

At a meeting with officials on Friday, Revanth Reddy made a pointed argument. Maharashtra had previously agreed to a Full Reservoir Level of 148 metres, he said. Building the barrage at that lower height, he stressed, would prevent Telangana from drawing or diverting the quantity of water it expects.

That is the core of the bargaining. Telangana is not just asking for a bigger structure. It is arguing that anything less would leave it short on the water it needs. Maharashtra’s fear of flooded villages sits on one side of the table, and Telangana’s fear of a shrinking water supply sits on the other.

El Nino Changes the Clock

Doubts remain over whether Revanth Reddy can convince Maharashtra to agree to the proposed height. The worry grows sharper with the El Nino crisis looming over the region. That threat adds urgency to a negotiation that has already run for years without a breakthrough.

For Telangana, the stakes are immediate. Water security beyond the Kaleshwaram project is the reason the government has pushed this barrage so hard. Any delay in securing Maharashtra’s approval keeps that goal out of reach.

What Revanth Reddy Will Bring to Mumbai

Revanth Reddy will now have to persuade his counterpart to approve construction at a Full Reservoir Level of 152 metres. He is expected to present technical reports, details of water availability, and estimates of the extent of submergence. These documents are meant to answer Maharashtra’s concern about villages with numbers rather than political assurances.

Whether those numbers are enough remains the open question. The source reporting does not indicate what Maharashtra will decide. What is clear is that Monday’s meeting is the first real test of whether a three-year impasse can move.

Why South India Is Watching

This is more than a dispute between two state governments. The Tummidihatti barrage is tied to how Telangana secures its water future, and to how two neighbouring states share a Godavari tributary when the rains become unpredictable. The outcome will signal how much leverage Telangana can apply in interstate negotiations, and how Maharashtra weighs the costs of submergence against the promise of water.

The next move belongs to Revanth Reddy and Fadnavis. Whatever they agree to, or fail to agree to, will shape the water picture for Telangana long after the meeting ends.