TDP team holds talks with CWC

A delegation of Telugu  Desam  Party  met  Union Minister for Water Resources Pawan Kumar Bansal  on  Tuesday  and  discussed  with him the Babli Project issue across the River Godavari.   Central  Water  Commission  chairman Arunkumar  Bajaj was also present  during  the  discussions.

The  delegation apprised the CWC that water to the Telangana region would dry up if the Maharashtra Government does not stop works on the 13 illegal projects under the Babli Project across the river Godavari. The delegation  further stressed  that the Sriramsagar Project would be only a decorative  piece  if immediate action is not taken.

According to the Tdp sources,  the delegation allayed the fears that the Maharashtra government was planning to 'siphon off' 167 TMC of water from the river Godavari.

The Maharashtra government claims that the crest gates erected as part of the Babli Project will only utilise 8.7 TMC of water for supplying drinking water to the state.

Union Minister for Water Resources Pawan Kumar Bansal  and CWC  chairman Arunkumar  Bajaj gave  the  delegation  a patient  hearing  and said  the CWC  would  send  an  invitation  to the  chief  ministers of both  the  states   to resolve  the  issue.

The  minister said  the  part  played by  the CWC  in resolving the   water  issue is  very little .  ''We  will  only  have to  refer  such  cases to the  tribunals  and  they will take  care of them''.

Referring to t he Polavaram Project, the minister observed that  there is no  change in the plan and  the project would take shape as per the original schedule.  Due to shortage of funds, the works on Polavaram project had been  delayed.  Once the  funds  are available,  the works  will continue, he added.