HYDERABAD: Telangana Irrigation officials have requested Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to direct the AP government to not proceed with the construction of Vaikuntapuram barrage.Telangana engineer-in-chief C Muralidhar, in a letter, on Monday requested the KRMB to inform AP govt to place the detailed project reports (DPR) of Vaikuntapuram barrage being constructed by it before Central Water Commission (CWC), KRMB and the Apex Council for scrutiny and approval.
“Until that time, AP may be directed not to proceed with the construction of any new project on river Krishna pending adjudication of the references by the KWDT-2 without the approval of KRMB and Apex Council as per the section 84(3) (ii) fit 85(8) (d) of AP Reorganisation Act, 2014”, Muralidhar said in his letter.
Muralidhar informed the KRMB member-secretary that they came to know through news papers that AP CM N Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation stone for a barrage across Krishna. “AP is unilaterally taking up the construction of Vaikuntapuram barrage with a storage of 10 tmc on Krishna river, around 23 km upstream of the existing Prakasam barrage at Vaikuntapuram village in Amaravati mandal in Guntur district, in violation of AP Reorganisation Act, 2014”, the ENC said.
The AP Reorganisation Act stipulated that the planning or execution of new projects had to be appraised and recommended by KRMB and CWC and thereafter it required the sanction of the Apex Council, Muralidhar said.“It is not proper of AP to proceed with the construction of any new project without complying with guidelines stipulated in AP Reorganisation Act. Until all authorities duly grant their approval, considering view of Telangana on the said DPR, AP cannot execute the project,” Muralidhar told KRMB.