Telangana Assembly sees a heated face-off between Congress and BRS as Uttam Kumar Reddy and Harish Rao clash over the Palamuru–Rangareddy irrigation project.

The third day of the Winter Session of the Telangana Legislative Assembly witnessed sharp exchanges over irrigation policy, with the Palamuru–Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme emerging as the flashpoint between the ruling Congress and the opposition BRS.

Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy presented a detailed briefing in the House, alleging large-scale mismanagement of the project under the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi government. He questioned claims of near-completion, arguing that massive expenditure failed to translate into irrigation benefits and led to steep cost escalation.

Former irrigation minister T. Harish Rao hit back, rejecting the allegations and defending the BRS record. He insisted that most of the project work had already been completed during his tenure and accused the current government of scaling down water allocation, adversely impacting farmers in the Palamuru region. Harish Rao also challenged the minister to jointly inspect the project site to establish facts.

Analysis: The clash reflects how irrigation projects remain central to Telangana’s political discourse, especially in drought-prone regions like Palamuru. With farmer livelihoods closely tied to project outcomes, competing claims inside the Assembly are likely to keep irrigation firmly at the heart of the political narrative.