Restart Rayalaseema Lift irrigation works immediately; Naidu must answer for stalling the project
The YSR Congress Party has launched a blistering attack on Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, accusing him of deliberately stalling the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project to deny political credit to former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, even at the cost of pushing Rayalaseema deeper into drought.
YSRCP leaders from Rayalaseema, led by senior district presidents, former ministers, MLCs and ex-MLAs, inspected the project site at Jupadu Bungala mandal on Monday and demanded the immediate resumption of works. Addressing the media, they said the TDP-led coalition government had done nothing to advance the project in the last 19 months, despite claiming administrative competence.
The leaders squarely blamed Chandrababu Naidu for failing to secure environmental clearances, calling it a manufactured excuse to stall a project that was already 85 percent complete under the YSRCP government. They said the “clearance issue” has now been exposed as a smokescreen after Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy openly stated in the Assembly that the Rayalaseema Lift works were stopped at his request.
“This admission has blown the lid off the conspiracy,” YSRCP leaders said, demanding that Chandrababu Naidu immediately explain what understandings were reached behind closed doors with the Telangana government and why Rayalaseema’s lifeline was sacrificed in the process.
Recalling the project’s launch on May 5, 2020, the leaders said the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project was conceived to permanently resolve drought by utilising floodwater that otherwise goes waste into the sea. They reiterated that Andhra Pradesh was only drawing its rightful share of water and accused Chandrababu Naidu of deliberately creating legal hurdles by encouraging cases in the National Green Tribunal through Telangana-linked interests.
According to YSRCP, the real reason behind the obstruction is political insecurity. “Chandrababu Naidu fears that completing this project would cement goodwill for YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. To protect his own political and legal interests, he has compromised Rayalaseema’s future,” the leaders alleged.
Warning of serious consequences, the YSRCP announced plans for a mass agitation involving farmers, farmer unions and irrigation experts if works are not restarted immediately. They stressed that without assured irrigation water, Rayalaseema cannot sustain agriculture, attract industry, or generate employment.
“Delaying this project is nothing short of condemning Rayalaseema to permanent drought and joblessness,” the leaders said, demanding that Chandrababu Naidu take full responsibility, secure all pending approvals, restart the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project without further delay, publicly disclose his alleged deals with Revanth Reddy, and apologise to the people of Rayalaseema for betraying the region’s interests.
