Center Announces 12-Mem Committee on Banakacharla

The Centre has announced a 12-member expert committee regarding the Banakacharla project. This proposed link project is planned to be built on the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh, at the point where the river flows into the sea. The aim is to address the concerns related to water usage between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The committee will include five members each from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, with the Centre nominating two additional experts. The Water Resources Department has requested both states to send names for consideration. From the submitted list, ten members will be selected, and then the Centre will include its two representatives to complete the panel.

The chief ministers and officials from both states met in Delhi on June 16. The meeting, held in the presence of Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil, focused on resolving differences over the Banakacharla project. Andhra Pradesh argues it is only making use of water that would otherwise go waste into the sea, while Telangana strongly feels it will deprive its people of much-needed water resources.

Political tensions have escalated with Telangana leaders accusing Chief Minister Revanth Reddy of supporting Chandrababu Naidu, his former political mentor and current ally. The opposition party BRS has sharply criticised Revanth Reddy, calling him a covert supporter of Andhra Pradesh and a loyalist of Chandrababu.

Meanwhile, Chandrababu and his team maintain that Telangana’s objections are exaggerated and unnecessary. They assert that the project is purely meant to help drought-hit areas without harming Telangana’s interests.

For those unfamiliar with the project, the Banakacharla plan seeks to divert surplus water from the Godavari to address chronic drought in Rayalaseema. This involves increasing the capacity of the Polavaram Right Main Canal from 17,500 to 30,000 cusecs, and enhancing the Thatipudi Lift Canal’s capacity from 1,400 to 10,000 cusecs.