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Telangana, Maharashtra to Sign MoUs Today on Five Barrages

Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will script a new history on Tuesday by signing five MoUs in Mumbai on construction of irrigation projects.

Unlike other states in the country, both the states sought each other’s objections over sharing the river waters and will be signing the MoUs on the projects which will be beneficial to most backward areas in both Maharashtra and Telangana states.

Both the Chief Ministers will sign MoUs on Medigadda barrage on the Godavari, Tummadi Hatti on the Pranahita and Chanaka-Korata and two other barrages on the Penganga.

Of the five barrages, three will be built by Telangana and two by Maharashtra.

Irrigation minister T Harish Rao, irrigation adviser R Vidyasagar Rao, chief secretary Rajiv Sharma and ministers Jogu Ramanna and Indra Karan Reddy are accompanying the Chief Minister. They left for Mumbai by a special helicopter from the Begumpet airport for Mumbai on Monday afternoon.

They will attend a meeting with the Maharashtra Chief Minister at Sahyadri Guest House in Mumbai on Tuesday. Officials of the two states will sign the MoUs at 10.15 am. The signing will be followed by a lunch.

While paving the way for a new culture in the country on resolving inter-state water disputes, the TS government has also suggested to the Centre recently on how to resolve inter-state water issues in a short time.

As water is a state subject, the central government will intervene only if warring states approach it. Then, the central government will constitute tribunal for a particular river to resolve the issue. “However, tribunals or courts are taking a long time to resolve such matters. This is leading to escalation of the project costs and suffering of farmers. Instead of the Centre appointing tribunals on specific demands, the Central Water Commission (CWC) should constitute a permanent tribunal in the country to resolve river disputes immediately,” Harish Rao has suggested to Union water resources minister Uma Bharati recently and Uma Bharati liked the suggestion,” sources in the irrigation department claimed.

But, in the case of Telangana and Maharashtra, they did not want a tribunal. They sat together, conducted a series of meetings and resolved the matter by themselves in just three months’ time. TS government’s advisor (inter-state affairs) D Srinivas said that they would resolve the problems with AP and Karnataka too in future just the way they did it with Maharashtra.

Rousing Reception Awaits KCR on Return

Meanwhile, the TRS cadre is making arrangements for extending a rousing reception to the chief minister who will return to Hyderabad on Tuesday evening. Minister Talasani Srinivasa Yadav inspected the arrangements at the Begumpet airport. “A special Chaitanya Ratham is being readied to take the chief minister from the airport to his camp office,” Talasani said.

KCR Calls on Maha Governor

Chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao who is in Mumbai, called on Maharashtra government Ch Vidyasagar Rao. Ministers T Harish Rao and Jogu Ramanna, state government advisor D Srinivas and others too called on the governor. The chief minister later discussed with the irrigation officials about the content in MoUs to be signed with Maharashtra government on Tuesday.

Source: The New Indian Express

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