Karnataka and Maharashtra to share info on interstate water resources

An agreement was signed in Bengaluru on Saturday between chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and water resources minister of Maharashtra, Jayant Patil, as reported by local media Prajavani.

Karnataka and Maharashtra will share information on interstate water resources data on a real-time basis to mitigate floods in both the states. Both the state governments will set up data-sharing platforms for better water management of Krishna river basin and Bhima river.

File photo of Krishna river, (HT Photo)

An agreement was signed in Bengaluru on Saturday between chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and water resources minister of Maharashtra, Jayant Patil, as reported by local media Prajavani.

Both the states will work towards mitigating the flood situation by managing water flow out of the reservoirs built across the two rivers.

The two states will exchange data on the volume of water in reservoirs, the bulk of water flowing in the river course. They will also share data on the rainfall in the catchment area.

Both the states have also unanimously agreed to complete the interstate ‘Dudhganga dam project’ in the next two years. The Dudhganga project that will provide both the states surplus water for irrigation, could not be materialised due to several differences.

The project line estimate and plan have been prepared by both states and the civil works were yet to begin.

A special technical team will be created for effective water sharing between the states. The team will oversee the day-to-day developments in the rivers and water sharing.

According to the agreement, Maharashtra will deliver 4tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) water to Karnataka in summer. In lieu of this, Karnataka will deliver water to drought hit areas of Maharashtra in the monsoons.

Both the states will jointly fight in the Supreme Court to enact the Brijesh Mishra tribunal's report on water sharing of Krishna river. This report has also been pending due to legal issues.

Law and parliamentary affairs minister of Karnataka Basavaraja Bommai hailed the interstate coordination as historic. He said both states will have ministerial and secretary-level talks to level out the differences and work out modalities for a plausible solution.