CM's Palamuru-Rangareddy Project Review Comes After BRS Announces Protest March, Says Former Minister

Hyderabad: The Chief Minister's sudden move to review the Palamuru-Rangareddy irrigation project came only after the BRS party announced plans for a protest march, according to former minister V. Srinivas Goud.

Speaking at a media briefing held at Telangana Bhavan, Srinivas Goud suggested that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy acted hastily following the BRS's revelation of its planned padayatra. He pointed out that the government has been conducting review meetings without the participation of irrigation department officials, rendering such exercises ineffective.

"Over the past two-and-a-half years, multiple reviews have taken place without producing any tangible results," Srinivas Goud stated. He contended that the BRS planned padayatra would serve to highlight the shortcomings of the Congress administration on this critical infrastructure project.

According to the former minister, both the Narlapur and Edula reservoirs had reached approximately 95 per cent completion during the previous BRS government's tenure. Canal construction work, he claimed, had progressed to around 98 per cent before the change of administration.

Srinivas Goud levelled accusations that the Congress government cancelled existing project tenders after assuming office. He also criticised irrigation adviser Adityanath Das, alleging that the official's actions have caused financial harm to the state and resulted in poor project decisions.

The BRS leader demanded that the Congress government either demonstrate its commitment through its own padayatra or provide a clear explanation of its contributions to the project. He blamed government inaction for acute water scarcity in the Palamuru region, noting that the Jurala reservoir dried up as early as January.

Srinivas Goud called for the government to reinstate project-related tenders that were cancelled. The BRS plans to conduct its padayatra in June, with specific dates to be announced shortly. The march will traverse from Narlapur to Uddandapur, he added, while demanding that the project be completed within six months.

The former minister also objected to making the project's clearances contingent upon the proposed Godavari-Cauvery river linking initiative, describing such conditions as detrimental to Telangana's interests.

Former MLAs Anjaiah Yadav and Beeram Harshavardhan Reddy joined Srinivas Goud at the briefing, where they also raised concerns about the timely procurement of paddy from farmers.