AP brushes aside TS talk on Pattiseema

Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government has decided not to buy the argument of Telangana on the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Project (PLIP). According to sources in the AP Irrigation department, the TS argument that the project should have prior permission from the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) holds no water.

Firstly, the PLIP was not a new project and it was a part and parcel of the Polavaram Multi Purpose Irrigation Project (PMPIP) for accruing advanced benefits. For this, no new clearances were needed, since the PMPIP has already got the clearance from all the Central agencies concerned, said a senior AP Irrigation official.

Secondly, the PLIP was not a project of permanent nature, as the very nature of the project construction was a temporary one. It was clearly mentioned in the Government Order that once the Polavaram Project was completed, the PLIP would not be functional.

The main aim of the PLIP was only to divert the quantum of Godavari water which had already been allocated, and there is no violation whatsoever by AP. Given this back ground, the project needs no fresh approval neither from the GRMG nor from the apex council, the official said. When asked about the objections raised by Telangana over the PLIP, Irrigation Minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao said, “We will respond to the same when asked.”