VIJAYAWADA: Amid the ongoing water dispute with neighbouring Telangana, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday dashed off a letter to Union Minister for Jalshakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat complaining about the alleged illegal withdrawal of water by Telangana to generate power from Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar and Pulichintala projects. He urged the ministry to intervene and take immediate action to protect the interests of the state against the 'whimsical attitude' of the Telangana government.
In another letter to Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar, the Chief Minister sought environmental clearance to the proposed Rayalaseema Lift Scheme proposed by the state to supplement existing irrigation projects and supply drinking water to Chennai. The Chief Minister said the scheme does not involve land acquisition, forest area, wild life sanctuary and is located beyond 10 kilometres of the Eco Sensitive Zone (ESZ).
In his letter to Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the Chief Minister said Telangana started generating power from Srisailam reservoir from June 1 even as the water levels are below the Minimum Draw Down Level (MDDL) without raising any indent before the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) although there is no irrigation requirement under Nagarjuna Sagar project and Krishna delta.
Jagan Mohan Reddy said Telangana is not allowing water levels to be built up in Srisailam and utilised 19 tmc water for power generation out of the 26 tmc inflows since June 1. "In view of this adamant attitude of Telangana, reaching 854 ft water levels in Srisailam seems to be a herculean task, which is essential for drawing water through gravity for the schemes dependent on Pothireddypadu Head Regulator. This will cause severe stress to the chronically drought-prone Rayalaseema region, Nellore, Prakasam districts and also Chennai, as they depend on Srisailam reservoir for their drinking water and irrigation needs," the Chief Minister said.
Jagan Mohan Reddy also said that the power generation at Nagarjuna Sagar and Pulichintala projects is leading to water being released into the sea. "The intention of Telangana is to deprive AP of its due share of allocated water," the Chief Minister said and added that AP had earlier also lodged complaints over the Telangana leadership violating all established norms, principles and procedures in vogue.