E-Paper
T’gana fails to get more share of Krishna water during 14th KRMB meeting
Telangana, which was bifurcated from AP in 2014, was allocated 299 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of water, while AP was given 512 TMC from the total 811 TMC which the erstwhile joint state of Andhra Pradesh had.
Telangana’s bid to share water on a 50:50 ratio from the Krishna river basin with Andhra Pradesh was unsuccessful as both sides refused to yield even one bit during the 14th Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) meeting which was held on 1 September.
The meeting witnessed heated discussions from both sides, with officials from Telangana’s irrigation department even walking out once during the meeting on Wednesday, which went on for nearly 10 hours after starting at 11 a.m. The current water sharing ratio of 66:34 (AP-TS) ratio will continue for this year, which senior irrigation department officials from both states confirmed.
Telangana, which was bifurcated from AP in 2014, was allocated 299 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of water, while AP was given 512 TMC from the total 811 TMC which the erstwhile joint state of Andhra Pradesh had.
Based on an agreement signed in1976 to distribute the roughly 2060 TMC feet of Krishna river water, Maharashtra was allocated about 560 TMC feet, Karnataka 700 TMC feet, and 811 TMC feet was allocated for (erstwhile) Andhra Pradesh. The Krishna river now runs across the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, AP and Telangana.
“We were unable to convince the board to get a higher share of water from the Krishna river. The arguments from both sides nearly resulted in a fight,” said an official from Telangana’s Irrigation department, who did not want to be quoted.
Telangana has been seeking a higher share of water from the Krishna river citing higher irrigation and drinking water needs since 2018. The issue of Telangana seeking a higher share of Krishna water is currently pending before the Krishna River Water Disputes Tribunal - 2 (KWDT-2).
“The issue is that unfortunately in a 2015 meeting with the Ministry of Jal Shakthi, the current 66:34 ration was agreed upon, which has been recorded in the minutes of the meeting as well. So AP cites that,” the Telangana official informed.
When contacted, a senior irrigation department official from AP who did not want to be quoted said, “We put forth our arguments as well. The same issue (Telangana seeking higher share from Krishna river) is also pending with the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-2, so we pointed that out as well. The meeting went in our favour.”
Officials from both the Telugu states on Wednesday evening also met for a meeting of the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) to discuss water sharing and other issues as well. The Godavari river is however devoid of any common projects between both Telugu states. It has about 2,000 TMC of water, which is shared on a 50:50 basis.
On Wednesday, the meeting of the KRMB and GRMB also discussed modalities and issues concerning the Centre taking over all of the projects under the Krishna and Godavari rivers. A gazette notification for the same was passed by the Centre on July 15. It stated that the KRMB and GRMB will take control fully from October 14. Officials from both states said that a roadmap is being prepared for the same.
“The river management boards will not take over fully because we can’t let it run smaller irrigation and drinking water projects. There will be people from both states on the board, so hopefully it will function smoothly,” said the official from Telangana. Among other things, Telangana has also opposed AP from diverting water from Godavari river basin into the Krishna river’s basin for its projects.
As per a bifurcation agreement, the KRMB also has to shift to Andhra, while the GRMB will permanently be in Telangana. As of now, the KRMB is in Hyderabad given that it is still the joint capital of both states till 2024. It is learnt that the AP government wants to shift it to Visakhapatnam (about 550 kms away from the river basin), but Telangana officials want the KRMB office to be closer to the basin.
In the KRMB meeting, other items that were discussed in the 10-hour long meeting were: providing funds to the board, filling up vacant posts, utilising water during surplus years, jurisdiction of the board, power generation problems, minor irrigation projects etc.
