The new scheme replaces the politically thorny Polavaram–Banakacherla proposal, once estimated at ₹80,000–90,000 crore, with a shorter ₹58,000-crore alignment terminating at Nallamala Sagar.
Published Dec 08, 2025 | 11:50 AM ⚊ Updated Dec 08, 2025 | 11:50 AM
Godavari flood water at the Polavaram spillway. (Screengrab/ MEIL group/ X)
Synopsis: As Andhra Pradesh renewed its efforts to build a river linking project in the Godavari River, Telangana flips through the rule book to try and stop the plan dead in its tracks. The renamed Polavaram–Nallamala Sagar Link Project may have shaken off the politically loaded Banakacherla tag, but the inter-state tug-of-war over every drop of Godavari water is clearly not water under the bridge.
Andhra Pradesh’s Polavaram–Nallamala Sagar Link Project (PNLP) is back in the limelight with a fresh DPR tender, even as Telangana flips through the rule book to try and stop the plan dead in its tracks.
The renamed link project may have shaken off the politically loaded Banakacherla tag, but the inter-state tug-of-war over every drop of Godavari water is clearly not water under the bridge, as yet. If anything, the river dispute is flowing into yet another stormy chapter.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, on 28 November, pitched PNLP as a make-or-break lifeline for Rayalaseema, declaring, “We cannot let parched regions wait forever. Godavari’s surplus must serve every thirsty acre and every struggling family. PNLP is not ambition—it is a necessity.”
The Polavaram Irrigation Project itself is now in its final lap, with Andhra Pradesh reporting nearly 88 percent physical progress on major civil works, including the restoration of the diaphragm wall and key dam components.
With that foundation almost ready, the state has rolled out PNLP as its next big interlinking move — aimed at shifting nearly 200 tmcft of Godavari floodwater annually towards drought-hit Rayalaseema and south coastal districts through Nallamala Sagar in Prakasam district.
The new scheme replaces the politically thorny Polavaram–Banakacherla proposal, once estimated at ₹80,000–90,000 crore, with a shorter ₹58,000-crore alignment terminating at Nallamala Sagar, part of the long-pending Veligonda project. Officials said the Godavari–Nallamala–Somasila grid could ensure drinking water for 60 lakh people and irrigation for nearly seven lakh acres — pitching PNLP as the state’s drought-relief and fluoride-mitigation silver bullet.
The first step in Andhra Pradesh’s strategic shift was to pull the plug on the older Banakacherla plan. The government formally cancelled its DPR tender on 31 October, citing its new intention to limit the link to Nallamala Sagar. Roughly ₹9 crore worth of tenders were scrapped.
Barely weeks later, the state kicked off an e-procurement notice for PNLP, signalling that it intended to strike while the iron was still hot. The DPR will be taken up on an EPC-style turnkey basis, with officials calling it the critical bridge between blueprint and backhoe.
The latest tender, floated in late November 2025, invites consultants to prepare the DPR strictly as per Central Water Commission (CWC) norms. Valued at ₹7.68 crore with a one-year completion timeline, the bid must be filed digitally on the state’s e-procurement platform.
The tender details were: Bid submissions should close on 11 December, and technical bids should open on 17 December.
The DPR is divided into three strategic segments — Polavaram to Krishna (Segment-1), Krishna to Bollapalli (Segment-2), and Bollapalli to Nallamala Sagar (Segment-3)—with eight lifts proposed along a roughly 345.6-km canal-plus-pipeline system.
The tender mandates LiDAR surveys, geotechnical and hydrological studies, CWC-standard design and cost estimates, and draft and final DPR submissions to the CWC’s Technical Advisory Committee. Bidders must show prior experience in large irrigation or river-link projects and assist Andhra Pradesh in navigating environmental, forest and tribal clearances with agencies like MoEF and MoTA.
Even as Andhra Pradesh tries to move full steam ahead on paper, Telangana has stepped in with a firm “not so fast.” The government has dispatched a detailed letter to the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) urging it to halt PNLP’s appraisal.
Engineer-in-Chief Mohammad Amjad Hussain asked the board to ensure “no appraisal” as it was in violation of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, and the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal award.
Telangana argued that Andhra Pradesh is pouring old wine into a new bottle with its PNLP. It said that the project’s name and outfall point may have changed — from Banakacherla to Nallamala Sagar — but the underlying idea of large-scale Godavari-to-Krishna diversion remains the same.
The state reminded GRMB that it had earlier opposed the Banakacherla link, and that CWC, Krishna River Management Board (KRMB), GRMB and the Polavaram Project Authority had raised serious objections. The expert appraisal committee had even rejected the proposal, insisting that the rebranded PNLP cannot be allowed in through the back door.
Adding political firepower, Telangana Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, speaking on 3 December, warned that “Andhra Pradesh cannot divert Godavari waters as it pleases. Telangana’s rights are not up for negotiation. We will oppose any project that chips away at our share or threatens our villages.”
For Andhra Pradesh, PNLP is a course correction — shorter, cheaper, phased, and tied to existing infrastructure for quicker returns. For Telangana, it is déjà vu with a fresh coat of paint, and potentially a slippery slope leading to reduced Godavari flows and expanding Polavaram backwaters.
Whether PNLP travels from tender to trench will depend on how New Delhi reads the fine print and how hard each state pushes its case when the chips are down.
Naidu reiterated on 28 November, “This is about securing the future of generations. We will fight tooth and nail.” Uttam Kumar Reddy countered on 3 December, “We will not allow our rights to be watered down—not now, not ever.”
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
