Godavari waters issue: BJP flays CM

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, MAY 24. The BJP has sharply criticised the Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, for not involving Central Ministers from A. P. prior to his recent consultations with the Union Minister for Water Resources, Mr. C. P. Thakur, on the issue of utilising Godavari waters.

The party said Mr. Naidu's action was ``deplorable'' because the four Ministers were actively engaged in finding an acceptable formula for optimum use of Godavari waters. In fact, Mr. Naidu should have taken into confidence all the Opposition leaders before meeting Mr. Thakur.

The BJP general secretary, Mr. A. Narendra, and the convener of the party's Godavari waters cell, who were addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, were referring to the meeting between Mr. Thakur and Mr. Naidu in New Delhi last week when they decided to constitute a joint committee of technical experts from the Centre and the State to study all aspects of the proposed Godavari project.

They said the experts committee would serve no purpose after a broad consensus had been reached in the State that an integrated lift irrigation and dedicated power project of 2000 MW capacity was best suited for Godavari. Besides, the issue at stake was the creation of an autonomous authority for utilising Godavari waters with statutory backing since the existing body was a wing of the Irrigation Department and ill-equipped to handle the Godavari project.

Answering a question, the BJP leaders conceded that the Chief Minister did not need their party's permission to meet Mr. Thakur. But, democratic norms and conventions required him to consult political leaders and the Central Ministers. They said they would meet the Chief Minister to personally convey their feelings but would not politicise the issue.

When it was pointed out that the Union Minister of State for Home, Mr. Ch. Vidyasagar Rao, had welcomed the Chief Minister's initiative, they said the Minister had spoken for himself whereas they were speaking on behalf of the party.

The BJP leaders said there was no need for taking it up as a national project since the Centre's help would always available. The claimed that funds would pose no problem for Godavari since it was being conceived as a multi-purpose project to serve the needs of irrigation, navigation and fishing. Major companies would vie with each other for investing in the project since their money could be recovered in no time from the hug revenue generated, they said.

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Section  : Southern States
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