Andhra’s interests not compromised on Babhali: Rosaiah

HYDERABAD - Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K. Rosaiah Tuesday denied that he compromised the interests of the state on the Babhali barrage dispute during a meeting with his Maharashtra counterpart in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Addressing a news conference here Tuesday evening, he said Andhra Pradesh would continue to pursue the contempt of court case filed in the Supreme Court against Maharashtra for not abiding by its interim order.

“At the same time the two states will continue their efforts to find a mutually acceptable solution to the problem,” Rosaiah said.

The chief minister said it was the opinion of the central government that both the states should abide by the Supreme Court order on the dispute. He said the central government had also directed the Maharashtra government to clarify Andhra Pradesh’s doubts on 13 other projects being built by it across Godavari river.

Rosaiah denied the allegation by Leader of Opposition N. Chandrababu Naidu that he compromised the state’s interests during the meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and the prime minister in New Delhi Monday.

He, however, declined to reveal details of the meeting, saying it was not proper to do so.

Rosaiah said the prime minister directed Union Minister for Water Resources Pawan Kumar Bansal to hold a meeting with ministers and officials of the two states to follow-up on the meeting held Monday.

Earlier, Naidu told reporters that Rosaiah compromised the state’s interests during the meeting to save his “chair”. He pointed out that Maharashtra had already violated the Supreme Court’s interim order in the case by going ahead with the Babhali barrage across the Godavari.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief, who along with other party leaders was arrested by Maharashtra police recently for marching towards Babhali, wanted Rosaiah to reveal the details of the meeting.

“Will Maharashtra stop the construction of 13 other illegal projects being built by it. Has Mr.Rosaiah raised this issue in the meeting and what was the response of Maharashtra and the prime minister?” asked Naidu.

Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) chief K. Chiranjeevi also said the meeting was not satisfactory. He too urged Rosaiah to call an all-party meeting and reveal the details of his discussions in Delhi.

Andhra Pradesh argues that Babhali dam will deprive the state of its rightful share of Godavari waters.