Congress Failure Caused Drought in Telangana, Alleges Harish Rao

BRS leader and former minister T Harish Rao on Saturday blamed the Congress government for the drought-like situation in Telangana, alleging that it was caused by administrative failures rather than natural factors. Addressing a press conference at Telangana Bhavan, he accused the government of shifting responsibility to El Nino despite the availability of water and power resources.

Harish Rao alleged that irrigation projects were not being operated to their full capacity because the government was reluctant to give credit to the previous BRS administration. He claimed that at the Kalakkurthy lift irrigation project, only one or two of five pumps were being operated for about 10 hours a day despite water being available in Srisailam. He said this could affect the 3.16 lakh acres brought under irrigation earlier and warned that nearly three lakh acres under Nettempadu, Bhima, Koilsagar and Jurala could face crop losses.

Questioning Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy's claim that Telangana had utilised 84 TMC of Srisailam water this year, Harish Rao said only around eight TMC had been lifted through Kalwakurthy and demanded an explanation for the remaining water. Citing Central Water Commission figures, he claimed Telangana's Krishna water utilisation stood at 28.4 per cent in 2024-25 against Andhra Pradesh's 71.5 per cent and fell further to around 25 per cent in 2025-26.

On Kaleshwaram, Harish Rao rejected criticism over the project's cost, saying its higher irrigation coverage, storage, utilisation and pumping capacity, along with increased land acquisition compensation, accounted for the escalation.

He also questioned the government's decision not to operate the Kannepalli pump house. Referring to CWPRS tests, he claimed the Annaram and Sundilla barrages had received positive concrete-quality findings and that, except for collapsed Block 7 at Medigadda, the remaining six blocks were safe. He said the available water level could permit pumping nearly 2 TMC a day to Ellampalli.

Harish Rao alleged that about 3,300 MW of power generation capacity was unavailable, including reduced generation at Yadadri and halted output at Bhadradri and Kothagudem. He also accused the government of inadequate coal and maintenance planning.

He questioned the escalation in the Kodangal-Narayanpet lift irrigation project estimate from Rs 1,450 crore to Rs 6,825 crore and demanded an explanation.

Harish Rao also alleged that BRS MLAs were suspended for questioning the government. He urged the state to restore irrigation and power facilities and ensure uninterrupted electricity for farmers.