VIJAYAWADA: Stating that the Apex Council, constituted under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2104, for the supervision of the functioning of Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) and Godavari River Management Board (GRMB), will shortly convene a meeting to discuss interstate issues, Union Jal Shakti Ministry has asked the governments of Telangana State and Andhra Pradesh to submit agenda points to be discussed.
In a letter sent to the AP water resources department principal secretary on Thursday, Union Jal Shakti Ministry under secretary AC Mallick noted that the meeting will be held shortly under the chairmanship of Union Jal Shakti minister. The chief ministers of both the States are members of the council.
“As per minutes of the meeting held on January 1, 2020 to discuss various issues of KRMB and GRMB, States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana had agreed to submit agenda points for the next meeting of Apex Council. However, these are still awaited from both the States. It is, therefore, once again requested to send agenda points for the next meeting of Apex Council,” the letter said.
Meanwhile, power generation at Srisailam Right Bank Hydro Electrical Station (SRBHES) came to a halt on Thursday due to non-availability of water in the reservoir. “We have stopped it completely today as per government’s directions,”said Chief Engineer of Srisailam right bank project V Ram Babu. The reservoir has hit the dead storage level of 812 feet against full reservoir level (FRL) 885 feet.
AP for panel meeting
The water resources department has proposed a meeting of the three-member committee constituted to look into water allocation in Krishna basin. It is learnt that the state, which has utilised 647.559 TMC from Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar, needs 2 TMC more. So, they want to discuss the same.