HYDERABAD: Telangana is not against inter-linking of rivers per se but has put forth some conditions. The state should get its 1,500 to 1,600 tmcft share of water from Krishna and Godavari rivers to meet the irrigation and drinking needs of its people before the Mahanadi in Odisha is to be linked to the Godavari.
That was the message conveyed by state irrigation minister T Harish Rao to Union water resources minister Nitin Gadkari at a high-level meeting on inter-linking of rivers held in Delhi on Wednesday.
As earlier, the Union ministry proposed to link Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri rivers in the first phase, and the Mahanadi and the Godavari in the second phase. But Harish Rao opposed the proposal and expressed concerns over water deficiency in Telangana if Mahanadi and Godavari were to be linked in the second phase.
“The dependability on Krishna river has reduced drastically. TS has 300 tmcft of assured and 70 tmcft of surplus water in the Krishna but is not getting it now. The Centre agreed to raise the height of Almatti dam by the Karnataka government. This will reduce the flows to TS further by 100 tmcft. TS requires 1,500 tmcft to 1,600 tmcft from both Krishna and Godavari rivers for drinking and irrigation needs. The state’s share of Godavari water is 954 tmcft. It proposed to divert 370 tmcft of Godavari water to the Krishna basin, 100 tmcft for drinking needs of the state including Hyderabad and another 50 tmcft for industrial needs.”
“The state has already started linking rivers and is diverting Godavari water to the Krishna basin. We are not against the inter-linking of waters,” Telangana irrigation minister Harish Rao said. He added that the Centre should first ensure that TS would get all its required water from Godavari and Krishna rivers and, if surplus water was available, it could be taken up to the Kaveri basin.
“The diversion of Godavari water to the Kaveri via Krishna river was proposed at Akinepalli where TS planned the Dummugudem project. The water availability at Akinepalli was less. “While giving hydrological clearance to Kaleshwaram, the Centre took a 40-year average. But, at Akinepalli, the Centre took the average water availability of last 100 years. As per our knowledge, the water availability at Akinepalli is not 177 tmcft as estimated by the Centre,” Harish Rao said. On the other hand, if the Centre links Mahanadi with Godavari first, then adequate water will be available to meet the needs of TS.
Then, the surplus waters can be diverted to the Kaveri, Harish Rao proposed. The same stand of the state government was repeatedly conveyed to the Union ministry in the previous meetings. TS wants intra-linking of rivers within the state and the basin first before the Centre could embark on inter-state linking of rivers so that the water needs of the respective states could be met.