Polavaram-Banakacherla link project sparks tension between Telugu states

Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government's proposed Polavaram-Banakacherla link project on the Godavari River, estimated at Rs 81,000 crore, has created new tensions between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Despite objections from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh has announced the formation of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) called 'Jala Harathi Corporation,' a fully government-owned entity, to build the Banakacharla project.

The ambitious project aims to transfer flood water from the Godavari River to the Banakacherla Regulator, diverting 200 TMC of water through open canals, lifts, underground pipelines, and tunnels through the Nallamala hill range.

This initiative will interlink the Godavari, Krishna, and Penna rivers, providing drinking water to approximately 80 lakh people, irrigation for 3 lakh hectares of new agricultural land, supplementation to 9.14 lakh hectares, and 20 TMC of water for industrial use.

The preliminary cost estimate stands at Rs 80,112 crore. Telangana has strongly opposed the project, claiming it violates both the 1980 Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal Award and the 2014 Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. Additionally, Telangana has expressed concerns about Andhra Pradesh's use of Sections 46(2) and 46(3) of the APRA to secure central funding, warning that these provisions cannot circumvent statutory approvals and environmental regulations. Telangana is reportedly considering approaching the Supreme Court to challenge the project.

At a recent meeting with irrigation officials Telangana's irrigation minister, Capt N Uttam Kumar Reddy also raised concern about the safety of Bhadrachalam, a major town located along the Godavari river. He said the large-scale diversion of floodwaters from Polavaram to Rayalaseema could affect the natural flood pattern downstream and put the temple town at risk.

Andhra Pradesh found that based on the hydrological studies, the river Godavari has 90-120 days of surplus water after meeting upstream and downstream utilizations. As such, success of the scheme requires a transit balancing reservoir located at Bollapalle hill series of Palnadu District enroute to Banakacherla regulator with a capacity of 150 TMC by just closing the gaps in between the hills.

The main objective of this project is to supply water to all water deficit districts of the State. The major portion of the Rayalaseema region lies in the Pennar River basin, whose catchment is predominantly a rain shadow area. In order to meet the water needs of the Rayalaseema districts, several irrigation projects have already been grounded, for which Srisailam Right Main Canal (SRMC) is the main source, drawing water from Pothireddi padu Head Regulator located on the right flank of foreshore of Srisailam Reservoir.

Now Andhra Pradesh wants Polavaram – Banakacherla Link Project for transfer of flood waters from Polavaram dam to Banakacherla Regulator on Srisailam Right Main Canal through a link canal to utilize flood water.