Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat assured on Saturday gave an assurance for the construction of Balaji Sagar reservoir for supply of drinking water to Tirumala hill shrine.

The construction of Balaji Sagar reservoir will help in supplying drinking water needs in Tirumala. Currently, water from four dams including Papavinasanam, Kumaradhar-Pasupudhara, Akasaganga and Gogarbham is not able to meet the drinking water requirements in Tirumala.

Shekhawat who offered prayers at Tirumala Srivari temple along with state Water Resources minister Anilkumar Yadav assured the state government for the construction of Balaji Sagar reservoir. At Tirumala, he was received by TTD trust board chairman Y V Subba Reddy and additional EO A V Dharma Reddy. Shekhawat’s visit to Tirumala comes days after he recovered from Covid-19. The Jal Shakti Minister is the chairman of the Apex Council. The Apex Council meeting to resolve the disputes over river water sharing between the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana was postponed after he tested positive for Covid-19. The next Apex Council meeting is scheduled on October 6 to resolve the disputes over river water sharing between the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Days after recovering from Covid-19, Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat visited Lord Venkateswara Swami temple in Tirumala on Friday evening.

The minister landed at Renigunta airport in a special chartered flight. The YSRCP ministers Anil Kumar Yadav, Peddireddy Ramchandra Reddy, MP Mithun Reddy, and YSRCP MLAs received him at the airport. From Renigunta airport, Shekhawat left for Tirumala by road to offer prayers to Lord Venkateswara Swami. After offering his prayers at the shrine, Shekhawat will fly to New Delhi.

Shekhawat’s visit to Tirumala comes days after he recovered from Covid-19. The Jal Shakti Minister is the chairman of the Apex Council. The Apex Council meeting to resolve the disputes over river water sharing between the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana was postponed after he tested positive for Covid-19. The next Apex Council meeting is scheduled on October 6 to resolve the disputes over river water sharing between the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Jal Shakti Minister and Apex Council chairman Gajendra Singh Shekhawat was tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday. He has been shifted to a hospital.

The Union Minister took to Twitter to inform about his health. “On getting some symptoms, I got the corona test done and my report came back positive. I am hospitalised on the advice of doctors. I request that those who have come in contact with me in the last days, isolate themselves and get themselves examined. May all of you be healthy and take care of yourself,” Shekhawat tweeted.

With Shekhawat hospitalized, the Apex Council meeting scheduled to be held on August 25 is likely to be postponed. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat who is the Apex Council chairman was to address the issue of river water sharing between the two warring states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh via video-conference. With his hospitalization, there’s a big question mark in the Apex Council meeting.

Already thr Chief Ministers of both the states K Chandrasekhar Rao and Jaganmohan Reddy have prepared their respective arguments to put forth before the Apex Council.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy are gearing up to present their respective point of views on the river water sharing between the two states when they meet at the Apex Council on August 25.

Both the states have locked their horns over irrigation projects being taken up on Godavari and Krishna rivers. Rao, who stated that he will not compromise even a single drop of water, is preparing the argeuments put forward to safeguard the interests of his state people He had also held a review meeting to finalise the strategy to be adopted at the Apex Council meeting. The officials concerned are briefing the CM with comprehensive information on all the objections that the AP Government and Centre had put forth.

Armed with the information, the CM is likely to fiercely put forth his views and objections before the Apex Council meeting. He pointed out that there were no new projects in the Telangana state andthe projects approved in the united AP were redesigned to suit the needs of the Telangana and the projects are being executed in tune with the Bachawat Tribunal Award. It was also decided to strongly oppose and register objections over enhancing the capacity of Pothireddy Padu as well as the new Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation project taken by the AP government at the Apex Council meeting.

The CM made it clear that the so-called objections raised by AP Government and the Centre have no meaning and were baseless. The Telangana government has opposed the Andhra Pradesh government’s move go ahead with the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme and also move to draw and utilise six to eight TMC of water per day from the Srisailam reservoir on Krishna River.

The Andhra Pradesh government raised objections over KCR govermnent’s six irrigation projects or schemes, including the Kaleshwaram Lift irrigation Scheme to draw water from the Godavari River. At the Apex Council meeting, Jagan will point out that Telangana has projects such as Palamuru-Rangareddy, Dindi, Kalwakurthy and other lift irrigation schemes, to draw water from 800-ft of Srisailam.

Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat had recently written a letter advising the Chief Ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh not to proceed with the construction of projects which have not been cleared by the agencies concerned such as the Central Water Commission (CWC). Jagan shot back. In a letter to Shekhawat, Jagan clarified that that the Rayalaseema project is being built with the objective of using the water that Andhra Pradesh receives in the summer as per the Reorganization Act.

At the same time, Jagan Reddy clarified to Shekhawat that Rayalaseema scheme was not a new project but just a part of the existing Pothireddypadu scheme.

Moreover, the AP Reorganisation Act 2014 has clearly laid down guidelines for taking up new irrigation projects strictly abiding by the related acts and guidelines so as to meet water needs of both the states.

In a rude jolt to Andhra Pradesh government, Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Saturday directed Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy to put on hold the move to lift 3 tmc of the Krishna water from the Srisailam reservoir. He directed chief ministes of both the states not to take up any new projects without the approval of the apex council.

In a letter to Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jaganmohan Reddy and his Telangana counterpart K Chandrasekhar Rao, the Union minister directed officials of the Ministry to immediately call for a meeting of the Apex Council to discuss about the issue and also other matters pertaining to the utilization of the Krishna waters by both the States.

The Union Minister also called for a meeting of the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to technically examine the detailed project report (DPR) of the new projects proposed by the AP government to draw water from the Srisailam reservoir on the Krishna. The AP government has recently granted administrative sanction to lift 3 tmc of water from the Srisailam reservoir.

The apex council meeting will be chaired by the council chairman and Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and attended by Jagan and Chandrasekhar Rao.

Recently, state BJP president Bandi Sanjay had complained to Shekhawat on the AP government’s move to divert Krishna water to Rayalaseema region. Separately, the Telangana government has complained to Krishna River Management Board that he Andhra Pradesh government had issued GO 203 on May 5 to divert about 10 tmcft water per day from Krishna river to Rayalaseema region, mostly for areas outside the river basin.

The Telangana Irrigation Department had urged the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to prevent the Andhra Pradesh government from taking up any further action with regard to GO 203, issued on May 5 to divert 10 tmcft water from Srisailam to Rayalaseema.

Further, the Telangana government had moved the Supreme Court with an appeal to direct AP to halt the tender process for the irrigation project in violation APRA and the instructions of the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB).

The Andhra Pradesh government had proposed for construction of Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme, expansion of Pothireddypadu project and also increasing the capacity of the Srisailam Right Bank Canal under GO 203 issued in May this year. Tenders for the works had already been called for.

The Telangana government took strong objection to the daid GO stating that it is violative of the AP Reorganisation Act and sought stay orders against the GO.

KRMB had also sent a letter to Andhra Pradesh special chief secretary for water resources development stating that even calling for tenders for work on the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme would violate the APRA.