VIJAYAWADA: Stating that the Centre has responded positively to the proposal to notify all the projects on river Krishna under the jurisdiction of the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB), Water Resources Minister Devineni Umamaheswara Rao has said that the Union Ministry of Water Resources will soon conduct the apex council meeting to finalise modalities for the same.
Speaking to the reporters after participating in a meeting convened by Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi on Thursday, Uma said that notifying the projects under KRMB would help in providing water to more areas. “We faced water issues, especially for the areas under Nagarjuna Sagar left and right canals. The officials responded positively regarding the issue of notifying the projects as we have been requesting for the same for the last few years,” the minister said citing that the same clause was also a part of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.
In the meeting presided over by department’s secretary UP Singh, TS officials reportedly argued that the jurisdiction should be decided only after Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal clears the pending allocation issues between the Telugu-speaking states. However, the Union government is said to be in favour of notifying the projects.
Speaking on the discussion with the Union ministry, Uma said that the Centre asked the State to submit detailed project reports of all the new projects coming up on Krishna and Godavari rivers. He said that the State government would submit them soon. He also said that the details of water to be used from the Godavari would soon be finalised and the Godavari River Management Board will take a call on it. He also said the Centre agreed to finish the pending irrigation projects in the State by 2018-end.