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Meetings of Krishna, Godavari boards to be held today
The Krishna waters sharing is a major bone of contention between the two states. The diversion of waters from the Godavari to the Krishna will also be discussed. The two states have so far held 13 meetings on waters sharing
Officials from the irrigation departments of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will hold meetings with representatives of the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) and Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) on Wednesday. The modalities and issues related to the Centre’s move to take over projects on the Krishna and Godavari rivers in the two states will be among the issues discussed at the meetings.
The Krishna waters sharing is a major bone of contention between the two states. The diversion of waters from the Godavari to the Krishna will also be discussed. The two states have so far held 13 meetings on waters sharing. Telangana is on Wednesday expected to again seek a higher share of waters allocation from the Krishna. It was allocated 299 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of waters from the river when it was carved out of Andhra Pradesh in 2014.
The Krishna flows through Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. The united Andhra Pradesh was allocated 811 TMC. “There was no Telangana state earlier; so, the 299 TMC allocation was done without proper consultation... Hence, we want a higher share,” a Telangana irrigation department official said, requesting anonymity.
Telangana has been seeking higher waters share, and the matter is pending before the Krishna River Water Disputes Tribunal- 2. “Until the matter is solved, we are asking for a 50-50 share which Andhra Pradesh is opposing,” the official said.
An Andhra Pradesh’s irrigation department official said all issues including Telangana’s demand will be discussed.
The KRMB was to be allocated to Andhra Pradesh and GRMB to Telangana as per the bifurcation plan. Andhra Pradesh has sought to shift the KRMB’s office from Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam, about 550 km from the river basin. Telangana wants the KRMB office to be closer to the basin.
