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Centre asks Andhra, Telangana to hand over Nagarjunasagar to Krishna board
Secretary of Jal Shakti department Debashree Mukherjee conveyed the information to the senior officials of the irrigation departments of both the states during a meeting held in New Delhi recently
The Union Jal Shakti ministry on Wednesday asked the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments to hand over the operation and maintenance of the Nagarjunasagar major irrigation project on Krishna river to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB), while continuing the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel to control the security at the dam, people familiar with the matter said.
Secretary of Jal Shakti department Debashree Mukherjee conveyed the information to the senior officials of the irrigation departments of both the states during a meeting held in New Delhi recently, the people quoted earlier said.
The meeting was held in the backdrop of a tense atmosphere that prevailed on the interstate Nagarjunsagar dam on November 29, a day before the polling for assembly elections.
The irrigation department authorities of Andhra Pradesh allegedly trespassed into the project site along with their state police, clashed with the Telangana police and took control over half of the project spillway and put up barricades and barbed wire fencing till 13th gate out of total 26 crest gates to prevent the Telangana police and the irrigation officials entering into their territory.
Later, the irrigation officials of the Andhra Pradesh government released around 2,500 cusecs of Krishna water from the dam to meet the drinking water needs of their region for a couple of days, till the Centre intervened and took control over the project with the help of CRPF.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Mukherjee said that the entire project would be taken over by the KRMB, including the power project and water outlets through which water is released to Andhra Pradesh on the right side and Telangana on the left side.
“However, the officials of both the states said since it is a policy decision, they would take up the matter with the respective state governments and get back to the Centre,” an official of the Telangana irrigation department privy to the meeting said on the condition of anonymity.
The officials said that there were several technical issues involved in the operation and maintenance of the Nagarjunasagar dam and they cannot be handled by the KRMB alone.
“However, there was a consensus on continuing the CRPF security at the dam till a final decision is taken,” the official added.
