Published Feb 13, 2026 | 2:27 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 13, 2026 | 2:27 PM
Telangana is open to an equal sharing of Godavari surplus waters, Revanth Reddy said, but with a caveat.
Synopsis: Revanth Reddy said Telangana is open to an equal sharing of Godavari surplus waters. Telangana must have complete freedom to utilise its allocated 958 tmcft under the Godavari Water Tribunal award. It should file a No Objection Certificate with the Centre to this effect.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has once again brought the simmering river water disputes with Andhra Pradesh to centre stage.
In an informal chat with reporters in New Delhi on Thursday, 12 February, he said Telangana was ready for talks, but not at the cost of its lawful share. There will be dialogue—but no dilution of its stand, Reddy said.
Underlining a crucial caveat, he said Telangana was open to an equal sharing of Godavari surplus waters. Telangana must have complete freedom to utilise its allocated 958 tmcft under the Godavari Water Tribunal award. It should file a No Objection Certificate (NoC) with the Centre to this effect.
The Chief Minister wondered why Andhra Pradesh was reluctant to submit a no-objection certificate to the Centre when it has repeatedly claimed that nearly 3,000 tmcft of Godavari water flows unutilised into the Bay of Bengal each year.
“If that is so, where is the problem?” he asked, hinting that the ball was now in AP’s court.
Telangana, he said, has drawn up projects based on assured allocations on both the Godavari and Krishna rivers. Yet, Andhra Pradesh has been knocking on Delhi’s doors, filing complaints against key projects.
He listed the Palamuru-Rangareddy, Kalwakurthy, Nettempadu and Bhima Lift Irrigation Projects on the Krishna, along with the Sammakka Sarakka Lift Irrigation Project on the Godavari.
Reddy said that the Krishna basin projects were deemed approved under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. He brushed aside objections to their construction.
Switching gears, Reddy said that the next Telangana Assembly elections may not be held in 2028 as per schedule. Instead, it would likely coincide with nationwide simultaneous polls in 2029.
The central government, he said, was aiming to complete the national census by 1 March 2027 and publish the data within 60 days. Once the numbers were out—possibly by May or June 2027—a Delimitation Commission would be constituted.
The commission might take a year to complete its work.
“If that timeline holds, elections will be held in 2029 under newly delimited constituencies,” he said, adding that he would seek—and win—another five-year mandate.
He also indicated that the State government would soon write to the Centre seeking a thorough probe into alleged irregularities in power purchase agreements during the Bharat Rashtra Samithi regime.
He took exception to what he described as an unexplained delay in central investigations and questioned the inaction of the CBI in its investigation into alleged irregularities in the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project.
On the Formula-E race case, now with the Enforcement Directorate, he said that the action was missing.
On the phone-tapping controversy, he alleged that the Centre had not cooperated in extraditing former Special Intelligence Bureau chief T Prabhakar Rao.
Telangana, Reddy said, fought a 20-month legal battle and secured Supreme Court orders to bring him back. The Special Investigation Team, now headed by the Hyderabad Police Commissioner, has been given a free hand, he said, adding that questioning revealed the tapping was done under instructions from “higher-ups.”
Returning to Kaleshwaram, Reddy dismissed BRS claims that damage was limited to three of 100 pillars. Technical experts, he said, had flagged structural distress in several pillars. Impounding water without a full assessment could endanger as many as 33 pillars.
The National Dam Safety Authority has advised a comprehensive inspection, now entrusted to an expert agency. He pointed out the staggering numbers: ₹1.02 lakh crore already borrowed, ₹10,000 crore in pending bills, and another ₹50,000–₹60,000 crore needed for completion.
“Before pouring good money after bad, we need clarity,” he cautioned, suggesting alternatives such as drawing from Tummidihatti.
On Singareni Collieries Company Limited, he rejected allegations of tender irregularities. The site-visit clause, he said, was the standard practice in central PSUs and National Highways projects.
“Nothing new, nothing irregular,” he said.
Reddy promised to place the relevant documents before the Assembly and blamed the previous BRS regime for the company’s financial strain.
Fulfilling a promise made during the by-election in Jubilee Hills, he said a statue of NT Rama Rao would be installed in Ameerpet. He personally supported conferring the Bharat Ratna on NTR.
“He is a national asset. He belongs to everyone,” he said and announced plans to complete the State’s takeover of the Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase-I before 31 March.
The government would take over L&T’s ₹13,000 crore debt, settle capital adjustments, and bring the metro fully under state control, he added.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
