GRMB meets, Congress naps
A report says Andhra moved to reopen seven Telangana projects at the August 18 GRMB meet. Harish Rao says the Congress government here couldn’t be bothered to answer. The law is clear on process; the silence is on the Congress.
The GRMB’s August 18 agenda has been reported; its official minutes are still awaited.
The Godavari River Management Board met in Hyderabad on August 18 — and, according to a published report, the Andhra Pradesh government wanted seven Telangana irrigation projects put back under the microscope, including Kaleshwaram and Sitarama. The Telangana Congress government’s reported contribution: silence. That is not our phrasing; BRS’s T. Harish Rao said the government “did not protect water rights” and failed to respond to AP’s proposed agenda. The Mirror Now report is the only public account to state this so far.
Here is what the statute actually says. Under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, the Godavari and Krishna boards appraise proposals and give technical clearance; the Apex Council sanctions new inter-state projects after that appraisal, with the Central Water Commission where required. No board meeting can magic up a unilateral cancellation of approvals — and nobody has shown a minute or an order from August 18 that did.
What is on the record today is narrower and sharper: Andhra Pradesh sought a review, per the report; Harish Rao called out the Telangana Congress for not defending the state’s case; and the official agenda and minutes have not been posted by the board yet. Until those land, project-by-project outcomes are speculation. The Congress government in Telangana still owes the state an explanation for why Andhra’s pitch got airtime while Telangana’s answer, if any, didn’t.