The Telugu Desam Party has demanded that the Andhra Pradesh government prevail upon the Centre to make the government of Maharashtra remove all the gates that have been illegally installed on the controversial Babli project across river Godavari.

A delegation of TDP MPs, MLAs and MLCs led by Parliamentary Party leader Nama Nageswara Rao and senior MLA E Dayakar Rao met chief minister K Rosaiah here today and submitted a memorandum alleging that the Maharashtra government completed the construction of Babli project illegally, in violation of the Supreme Court and the Central Water Commission orders.

The total number of such illegal projects on river Godavari increased to 14 now, they said.

"This is only a forerunner to the impending catastrophe as the illegal projects built by Maharashtra will deprive water for irrigation to 18 lakh acres in six districts of the backward Telangana region," the TDP leaders said.

They recalled the relentless fight they waged in the last four years against the Maharashtra Government on the illegal irrigation projects and the numerous petitions they filed with the Government of India and the Supreme Court.

"Despite all this, the Maharashtra government went ahead with the construction of Babli and other projects and completed them," they said.

The TDP wanted the state government to initiate all required measures to protect the ayacut under the Sriram Sagar Project and protect the interests of farmers of Telangana region.