Harish Rao refutes Congress allegations

Hyderabad: Telangana Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao on Friday rebutted the allegations levelled by the Congress that the TS government inked pact with Maharashtra for the construction of barrages on Godavari by mortgaging the interests of the state.

The minister also took strong exception to the opposition’s claim that irrigation projects were re-engineered to swindle public money. In a statement here, he wondered why the opposition was making hue and cry on the finalisation of FRL (Full Reservoir Level) on Tummidihatti barrage.

It was the Congress government which had called for tenders in 2012 and taken up barrage works without deciding FRL which received strong objection from Maharashtra and finally halted the project. All the money spent on the construction had gone into the drains, he said.

He sought to know as to why the Congress had failed to convince Maharashtra government which was also ruled by Congress regarding the clearances of the projects TRS government succeeded in addressing all the issues with regard to FRL and barrage heights with the neighbouring state, Harish said and sought to know about the fate of the agreement signed by the Congress government with Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh States on Ichampally project in 1978 and Lendi, lower Penganga and Pranahitha projects in 1975.

The Congress government in the united Andhra Pradesh had neither taken up works nor made any attempt to address the objections raised by neighbouring states, the Minister said. Harish demanded that the Congress should explain people the similarity between the agreements signed during its regime and the present TRS government.