NDSA did not hand Kannepalli a green signal
The available record points to rehabilitation and state safety clearance—not the blanket operational approval claimed in the political crossfire.
The record points to rehabilitation and state safety clearance, not a blanket operational approval.
A claim doing the rounds says the National Dam Safety Authority told the Telangana High Court that water could be lifted through Kannepalli. The available record says something less convenient for the Congress government’s talking points: rehabilitation, safety assessment and Telangana’s own dam-safety machinery govern whether Kaleshwaram can operate.
Published accounts of the NDSA affidavit say it recommended rehabilitation before the affected barrage infrastructure returned to regular operation, and treated pumping and irrigation hardship as matters for the state government. The Central Water Commission and NDSA also told the court that operation rests with the State Dam Safety Organisation and the project authority—not with Delhi’s agencies. The court record reproduces the NDSA’s earlier finding that Medigadda was “rendered useless until fully rehabilitated”.
That does not prove T Harish Rao’s claims of political vendetta, record-low Krishna-water utilisation or a blanket clearance for Kannepalli. Nor does it establish the Congress government’s counterclaim that the motors are technically infeasible today. The documents needed are motor-wise test logs, safety directions and the actual affidavit. Until then, Congress has a dispute over safety and BRS has a disputed political charge. Neither has produced the paperwork that would switch the pumps—or settle the argument.