On the 9th of July, Vijayasai Reddy the Member of Parliament (MP) of the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) met the Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Shekhawat.
According to sources, the meeting was scheduled to discuss the ongoing water dispute between the two Telugu states, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
The dispute between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana is continuing over the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation work. The illegal construction and projects on the banks of the Krishna and the Godavari rivers by the Telangana Government and the Andhra Pradesh Government is a long pending matter. The matter intensified with a war of words between the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy led Andhra Pradesh Government and the K. Chandrashekar Rao led Telangana Government. Both the states’ governments sought intervention and accused each other of misusing the Krishna River water.
In addition, during the meeting, Mr. Vijayasai Reddy also sought permission for the construction of the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (RLIS) in A.P. Moving further with the discussion, the YSRCP MP also asked for protection and jurisdiction of the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB.)
The permission and protection request for the RLIS work came at a time, when the Telangana Government lodged a complaint against the A.P.’s Rayalaseema Project with the KRMB. The Telangana Government in their complaint said the Rayalaseema Irrigation Project is being constructed illegally.
