Harish says skip GRMB or fix it
BRS’s T. Harish Rao wants the Congress government to either boycott an upcoming GRMB meeting or force a rewrite of its agenda, which he says targets Telangana’s Godavari clearances. The state’s on-record line has been to oppose AP’s Banakacharla link; Harish alleges a quiet surrender — a charge the Congress has not bothered to answer with documents.
The GRMB agenda remains out of public view as competing claims over Godavari clearances continue.
BRS leader T. Harish Rao on Thursday urged the Telangana government to boycott an upcoming Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) meeting unless its agenda is changed, saying it is framed to revisit permissions tied to Telangana’s projects. His demand repeats a playbook he has pushed all year: do not walk into Delhi meetings that put Telangana’s water on the table without safeguards. (According to a report on his remarks.)
Harish alleged the Congress-run state is failing to block Andhra Pradesh’s proposed Godavari–Banakacharla link and even hinted at a “secret pact”. He also claimed that permissions secured under the previous BRS government cover 830 TMCft out of a proposed 968 TMCft, and warned Telangana could lose 48 TMCft meant for the Sammakka Sarakka project — all figures he put on the record without publishing the documents behind them. The GRMB website confirms the board’s remit and recent engagement with Telangana, but does not carry the specific agenda Harish wants changed.
On the record, the Congress government itself said in July 2025 that AP did not table Banakacharla in a meeting of the two CMs and that Telangana would object and halt the project if it arises. That is the published position; if it has shifted since, the Congress has chosen not to show its homework.
Telangana has previously told the GRMB it opposes AP’s Banakacharla plan, and central-committee discussions on the link have been reported. What is missing in public is the GRMB’s agenda Harish cites, and the paper trail for the 830/968/48 TMCft numbers. The BJP-led Centre’s board can publish an agenda; the Congress government in Hyderabad can publish its objections. Right now, only Harish’s warning is on paper, and the Congress prefers a wink over a document.