Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Secretary Sanjai Jaju met his Maharashtra counterpart, Rajesh Agrawal, in Mumbai on Wednesday and discussed ways to strengthen ties between the two states.
Jaju briefed Agrawal on the various welfare and development programs being implemented by the Telangana government, the state’s ongoing development progress, and the ‘Rising Telangana-2047’ vision.
According to an official release, the two officials discussed ways to further strengthen the cordial relations between Telangana and Maharashtra and to advance development initiatives through mutual cooperation.
Jaju also met State Bank of India (SBI) CMD C.S. Setty and apprised him of the development taking place in Telangana, investment opportunities, and the objectives of the ‘Rising Telangana-2047’ vision.
He outlined the measures being taken by the government to ensure the state’s overall development and industrial growth, as well as efforts to attract investment and create employment opportunities.
This meeting between the Chief Secretaries of the two states took place a week after Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy met Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil, urging him to persuade Maharashtra to agree to the construction of the Tummidihatti barrage on the Pranhita River with a height of 150–152 meters.
The Chief Minister met Patil in New Delhi, accompanied by Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy. He informed the Union Minister that Maharashtra had previously agreed to a construction height of 148 meters.
Revanth Reddy requested Patil to convince Maharashtra to agree to a barrage height of 150–152 meters, stating that a height of 148 meters would not allow for adequate water supply via gravity. He explained that increasing the barrage height would not cause large-scale submergence issues in Maharashtra.
The Chief Minister also spoke about the letter he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking approval and the subsequent forwarding of the matter from the Prime Minister’s Office to the Ministry of Jal Shakti. Revanth Reddy requested Patil to arrange a meeting between Telangana and Maharashtra on this issue as soon as possible. He pointed out that the completion of the project would provide irrigation facilities to the underdeveloped areas of the undivided Adilabad district. Patil stated that, as a first step, a meeting would be held under the supervision of the Central Water Commission (CWC) to initiate discussions between officials from Telangana and Maharashtra. He assured the Chief Minister that a meeting between the irrigation ministers of both states would also be arranged subsequently.
