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KRMB to hold meeting of AP, Telangana officials on Thursday to resolve water row
Hyderabad: The Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) under the Union Jal Sakthi ministry has convened a meeting of representatives of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
Hyderabad: The Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) under the Union Jal Sakthi ministry has convened a meeting of representatives of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in Hyderabad on Thursday amid tensions between the states over the construction of new projects on the river.
The board, headed by newly appointed chairman A Paramesham, wrote to the irrigation departments of both states on Tuesday, asking them to submit detailed project reports of the proposed new projects on Krishna river.
The board will go through the reports and refer the projects to the apex council of the ministry for further action. The apex council, comprising Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and chief ministers of both states, will meet at a later date.
The meeting of KRMB, being held on the directions of Shekhawat, will be attended by the principal secretaries and engineers-in-chief of irrigation of both states.
The latest water dispute between the two states erupted last month, when the Andhra Pradesh government headed by chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy issued an order proposing the construction of a lift irrigation scheme on Krishna river on the foreshore of Srisailam reservoir, located between the two states, and the expansion of the Pothireddypadu head regulator to draw an additional six to eight thousand million cubic feet (tmc) of water from the river.
The Telangana government wrote to KRMB, strongly objecting to the new projects proposed by the neighbouring state. It said they were a gross violation of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act and went against the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT)’s award.
KRMB sought an explanation from the Andhra Pradesh government, while the Jal Sakthi ministry directed the government to stop proceeding with the projects. Subsequently, the National Green Tribunal too issued an order staying the new projects.
While replying to KRMB’s letter, the Andhra Pradesh government defended the projects, saying they would be well within the water share allocated to the state. It made a counter-complaint against Telangana, saying it too had taken up schemes such as the Palamuru-Ranga Reddy, Dindi, Bhakta Ramadasa and Tummilla projects on Krishna river that violated the state bifurcation act and KWDT’s award.
