Hyderabad, Jan 4 (PTI) The Telangana government on Sunday held discussions with senior legal experts to oppose Andhra Pradesh’s proposed Polavaram-Nallamala Sagar project on the Godavari river.
The state government has already approached the Supreme Court against the project, and the writ petition filed by Telangana is scheduled to come up for hearing on January 5, according to a release from the CMO.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy met senior Supreme Court advocate Abhishek Singhvi in Mumbai on Sunday to discuss the legal strategy, it added.
Reddy instructed the legal team to present effective arguments on behalf of the state, while irrigation department officials were directed to provide all necessary documents and evidence to support the case.
The Telangana government has filed a writ petition seeking directions to halt the expansion works allegedly being undertaken by the Andhra Pradesh government to link the Polavaram project to Banakacherla or Nallamala Sagar without the required statutory approvals.
The petition has also sought an immediate direction to the Polavaram Project Authority to stop the ongoing works.
In its plea, the Telangana government contended that the Polavaram project should be executed strictly in accordance with the originally approved plan and that any expansion of the project was illegal.
The petition further objected to the Central government’s review of the pre-feasibility reports of the Nallamala Sagar project without taking into account Telangana’s objections.
Telangana has requested the Supreme Court to issue clear directions to the Central Water Commission, the Union Ministry of Water Resources and the Godavari River Water Management Board in the matter.
The writ petition also alleged that the Andhra Pradesh government was preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) in violation of Central Water Commission guidelines and sought an immediate halt to such actions.
The state government has also urged the court to restrain the granting of environmental clearances for the expansion projects undertaken by Andhra Pradesh and to withhold any financial assistance from the union government, the release said. PTI VVK SSK
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