In a welcome initiative aimed at resolving an inter-state water war, Telangana and Maharashtra seem headed towards negotiations regarding the contentious Tummidihatti barrage on the Pranahita river, the largest tributary of the Godavari by discharge and drainage. Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav has assured he would convene a Central Water Commission meeting on the issue, and between the irrigation ministers of the two states. As with all other water-sharing disputes, this long-pending issue has been prolonged by political compulsions on both sides.
It all started in 2008 when Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, then the Chief Minister of combined Andhra Pradesh, proposed a 152-metre-high barrage on the Godavari near Tummidihatti as part of the Pranahita-Chevella irrigation project. Maharashtra insisted on reducing the height, claiming that a large area in the state, including a wildlife sanctuary, would be submerged. After Telangana was formed, the BRS government shifted the water source from Tummidihatti to Medigadda, and constructed the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme. Meanwhile, Maharashtra approved a barrage height of 148 metres at Tummidihatti, which would reduce Telangana’s drawing capacity to 80 thousand million cubic feet.
The Revanth Reddy government took a middle path and proposed a height of 150 metres, which Maharashtra dismissed. That’s why the Telangana CM sought the Centre’s intervention, which proposed mediation. Telangana wants to complete the Tummidihatti barrage to use 100 tmcft of Godavari water, as the Kaleshwaram project is under repair. Telangana has a 960-tmcft share of Godavari water, out of which the state has tapped only a little over 500 tmcft till date.
With rainfall patterns becoming increasingly unpredictable, prolonged political delays in decision-making are no longer sustainable if any state is to judiciously use their water resources. After all, rivers do not recognise political boundaries. Political posturing must give way to cooperation. Telangana and Maharashtra should work together with a shared commitment to protect their most vulnerable communities from the challenges posed by an increasingly volatile climate. If the two states resolve the matter with the Centre’s support, it would usher in a new era for a country affected by several river-water disputes. This is possible because the two states are now jointly constructing the Chanaka-Korata barrage across the Penganga river. It shows that parched lands can be adequately watered if politics stands aside.
