Telangana refuses to discuss ‘Banakacherla’ project at Revanth-Naidu meeting in New Delhi on July 16

Writes a letter to the Centre on July 15 morning reminding Central bodies have already objected to it

Ahead of the crucial Chief Minister-level meeting between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held in Delhi tomorrow in the presence of the Union Jal Shakthi Minister, CR Patil, the Telangana government has refused to discuss the ‘Banakacherla’ project.

Taking objection to Andhra Pradesh’s proposal to discuss the ‘Banakacherla’ project in the Krishna basin as the single point agenda in the July 16 meeting, the Telangana government wrote a letter to the Centre on Tuesday (July 15, 2025) morning, just 24 hours ahead of the meeting between Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

The Telangana government clarified that there was no need to discuss the Banakacherla project, terming it irrelevant and unsanctioned. The letter pointed out that the Banakacherla project has not received any permissions from key regulatory bodies, such as the GRMB (Godavari River Management Board), CWC (Central Water Commission), and EAC (Expert Appraisal Committee).

The Telangana government also highlighted that these agencies have already raised serious objections to the Banakacharla project. Citing these facts, Telangana argued that the project violates all existing laws and tribunal judgments and, therefore, should not be a subject of discussion.

The Telangana government also warned that entertaining such proposals would undermine the credibility of the Central Government’s regulatory bodies and also the Centre.

Instead, the government said that the July 16 meeting should focus on pending and critical issues for which it had already sent a detailed agenda to the Centre. These include clearances and water allocations for projects pending on the Krishna river, recognition of Palamuru-Rangareddy and Dindi projects as national projects, as previously promised by the Centre.

Other issues are the allocation of 80 TMC of water for the Pranahita project at Thummadihetti and the approval for the construction of a new project to utilise 200 TMC of floodwaters at Ichchampally. The Telangana government asserted that these issues are longstanding, legitimate, and vital for the equitable sharing of water resources between the two states.