What is Banakacherla project, Rs 82,000-crore initiative that has Andhra Pradesh and Telangana CMs in crosshairs?

The Union government convened a meeting with the Chief Ministers of both Telugu states to discuss ongoing water disputes.

The water war between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh has now shifted to New Delhi. Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is expected to meet his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Chandrababu Naidu during a meeting convened by the Union Jal Shakti ministry on Wednesday.

The two states have been fighting loggerheads over the river water sharing issue, especially over the Andhra govt's proposed Rs 81,900 crore Banakacherla project. According to Telangana, the project would adversely affect the river water interests of the state.

Meanwhile, during his meetings with Union ministers, including Amit Shah, the Andhra CM sought the Centre’s support for the Polavaram-Banakacherla link project. According to Naidu, the project would help drought-proof the Rayalaseema region.

What is the Banakacherla project?

After bifurcation of the two states, Andhra Pradesh aimed at utilising the ‘surplus’ Godavari water to provide relief to a drought-prone Rayalaseema region.

Naidu and then-Telangana CM K Chandrashekhara Rao struck a deal allowing Telangana to utilise 299 tmc ft and Andhra 512 tmc ft of the 811 tmc ft of Krishna River waters, awarded to unified Andhra Pradesh by the Bachawat Tribunal in 1976.

After coming back to power last year, Naidu had proposed to build a massive reservoir at Bollapalli in Guntur district and Banakacherla in Nandyal district, which would facilitate the diversion of Godavari waters to the Penna basin. The Polavaram project is located in Eluru and East Godavari districts, while Banakacherla lies in Kurnool.

Andhra plans to divert Godavari flood waters to Prakasam Barrage on Krishna river at Vijayawada and then pump it to the Bollapalli reservoir via canals, and irrigation lifts. From there, tunnels passing under Nallamala forests will transfer water to Banakacherla reservoir, benefiting Kadapa and Kurnool regions.

Naidu now plans to partly use the nearly 3,000 TMC of Godavari flood water running into the Bay of Bengal on average every year. The Andhra government proposed the river link from the Polavaram dam in north central Andhra to Banakacherla in the parched Rayalaseema region.

According to Print, the project includes building a 416 km network of open canals, pipelines and lifts to draw 200 TMC of flood water at two TMC per day during the Godavari flood season. It is estimated to cost at least Rs 82,000 crore.

A detailed project report (DPR) is in the works for submission to the Centre for approval.

For Naidu, it is also a political issue. The Banakacherla project would help Naidu consolidate his power in the Rayalaseema region, a bastion of his Telugu Desam Party’s rival YSR Congress Party. If the water crisis in this region is sorted, TDP hopes to reap rich electoral dividends here.

Why is Telangana against the project?

According to reports, the Telangana government worries that this could impact irrigation for 8.1 lakh acres under the left branch canal in the state.

In a letter to the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Centre, the Telangana's Chief Secretary said any discussion on the project at this juncture is "unequivocally premature and procedurally untenable" due to numerous legal and procedural violations.

It argued that the project fundamentally violates the 1980 Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) Award and the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. It contends that the project proposes to alter water allocations and project operations without the mandatory consultation and consent of all co-basin states, as required by the GWDT Award (Annexures G and H) and the Reorganisation Act (Sections 85(8)(d) and 90).

The Telangana government also highlighted the absence of crucial statutory clearances from key central agencies.

Telangana stated that the Pre-Feasibility Report (PFR) submitted by Andhra Pradesh suffers from "critical data gaps and methodological deficiencies," particularly concerning water availability assumptions and technical feasibility. The CWC itself has raised fundamental questions regarding water availability computations and the need for a simulation study.

According to Telangana, the proposed diversion of floodwaters from Polavaram fundamentally alters the operation schedule of the Polavaram Project, and directly impacts its rightful share of Godavari water.