Triggering a fresh controversy, Andhra Pradesh irrigation minister Deveneni Umamaheswar Rao disputed Telangana’s claim that Andhra Pradesh was ready to return the five villages under Polavaram project area to Telangana.
Referring to CM KCR’s remark that AP CM Chandrababu Naidu had expressed willingness to return these villages of Khammam district, transferred to East Godavari district of AP by the centre, the minister said there was no such proposal with AP.
Addressing media at Bhadrachalam yesterday KCR confidently said very soon these village would come back and would be developed as part of the Bhadrachalam development project for which he said Rs 100 crore would be released.
Reacting on the KCR’s statement, Andhra irrigation minister disputed the claim and said it was a lie. “Because of the transfer of these villages, the construction of Polavaram has become possible. How could Andhra Pradesh give these villages back to Telangana, inviting a fresh trouble,” the minister asked.
KCR’s statement that Andhra Pradesh chief minister was willing to return these villages to Telangana was false, he reiterated.
This is not for the time that CM KCR talked about these villages, which have been transferred to facilitate the construction of Polavaram project in Andhra Pradesh as part of the implementation of the AP Reorganization Act, 2014.
If these villages remain with Telangana, the project would become a contentious issue between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana , leading to the stalling of the project. Already, Odisha is opposing Polavaram because of the submergence of tribal areas in the state.
On April 1, in reply to a question by Sunnam Rajaiah (CPI), KCR talked about Andhra Pradesh willingness.
” There is a piece of good news for Mr Sunnam Rajaiah, whose constituency suffered loss because of the annexation of seven mandals with Andhra Pradesh. I broached the matter before the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, and he responded positively. We may get five to six villages back,” the CM said.
Under the AP Reorganization Act, 2014, a total of 211 villages from Chintoor, Kunvarama, Bhadrachalam Vara Ramachandrapuram, Burgampadu, Kukunoor and Velair Padu mandals were transferred to Andhra Pradesh.
Against this backdrop Devineni Uma made it clear that there had been no thinking or proposal with Andhra Pradesh government to transfer these villages to Telangana. Instead he called upon Telangana state to be ready to wage a joint battle against illegal projects in Maharashtra. He also said the projects taken up in Telangana on Krishna were illegal.
What is intriguing is silence of chief minister Chandrababu Naidu. since KCR referred to Naidu’s name it would be in the fitness of things if Naidu clarified the matter.
