Centre asks Andhra to stop construction of new schemes on Krishna river

In reply to a complaint lodged by Bandi Sanjay, the president of Telangana unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Gajendra Shekawat said his ministry has discussed the matter with the AP government.

The Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation on Saturday directed the Andhra Pradesh (AP) government to stop its latest bid to construct a lift irrigation scheme on the Krishna river and upgrade the Pothireddypadu head regulator canal system on the foreshore of Srisailam reservoir, which has triggered a water-sharing dispute with neighbouring Telangana.

Telangana has alleged that Andhra Pradesh is drawing up to eight tmc (thousand million cubic feet) of water from the Krishna river daily. (PTI file photo. Representative image)

In reply to a complaint lodged by Bandi Sanjay, the president of Telangana unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Gajendra Shekawat said his ministry has discussed the matter with the AP government.

“I’ve directed that a meeting of the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) must be convened soon to resolve the dispute,” he said.

Shekawat has ordered that the detailed project reports (DPRs) of the proposed ventures must technically examine whether they are in line with the provisions of KRMB, an autonomous body, cited in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.

“The AP government has been directed to put these projects on hold until further order,” he added.

KRMB took note of the Telangana government’s complaint and wrote to a letter to Aditya Nath Das, special chief secretary, irrigation, AP, on Friday, seeking an explanation on the proposed construction of new projects, as they are in violation of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.

The board also cited that it had written two more letters to the AP government on earlier occasions this year – January 1 and May 13 – seeking the DPRs. However, the AP government is yet to furnish the details, it added.

Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, stipulates that no new projects on Godavari and Krishna rivers can be taken up either by the Telangana or Andhra Pradesh governments without obtaining sanction from the Apex Council on River Water Resources.