Godavari-Banakacherla River Interlinking Project: What it Is & Why Telangana Is Against It

A crucial meeting will be held at Jala Soudha in Hyderabad on April 7 (Monday) to discuss the Godavari-Banakacherla River Interlinking project. The meeting, conducted under the aegis of the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB), will be chaired by GRMB Chairman AK Pradhan. Principal Secretary for the Irrigation Department, Rahul Bojja, and ENC (General) G Anil Kumar will represent Telangana, while Special Chief Secretary for the Water Resources Department, G Sai Prasad, and ENC M Venkateswara Rao will present arguments on behalf of the Andhra Pradesh government.

The Godavari-Banakacherla River Interlinking Project, proposed by Andhra Pradesh, has been a contentious issue between the sibling states, with Telangana deciding to move the Supreme Court against it.

As part of the project, the Andhra Pradesh government aims to divert Godavari water to the Krishna River and further to the Bollapalli reservoir via the Nagarjuna Sagar Right Bank Canal, eventually channelling it to Banakacherla through a 31-km-long tunnel. The project intends to mitigate water scarcity in drought-prone regions of the state, especially Prakasam, Nellore, and Rayalaseema districts, by utilizing 280 TMC of Godavari floodwater during the rainy season.

The project requires an estimated Rs 80,000 crore, 54,000 acres of land, and 4,000 megawatts of power.

The meeting between officials of the two states is expected to be heated. The Telangana government has repeatedly voiced concerns over the project, stating that it violates the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) Award of 1980 and the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act (APRA) of 2014.

Last week, Telangana Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said, “We shall hold a special meeting with legal experts, standing counsels of the Irrigation Department, and the Advocate General to chalk out the strategy to file a petition in the Supreme Court.”

The Minister observed that the project will divert Telangana’s rightful share of Godavari water, jeopardizing the ayacut under the Nagarjuna Sagar.

The Telangana government has written to the Godavari and Krishna River Management Boards, as well as the Jal Shakti Ministry, raising concerns about Andhra Pradesh’s proposed project. In response, the GRMB has directed Andhra Pradesh to submit a Detailed Project Report (DPR), which the state has yet to provide.

Also read: Chandrababu-Revanth Ties Strained Over Controversial River-Linking Projects?