VIJAYAWADA: Asserting that there will be no compromise when it comes to protecting State’s interests, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday directed the officials concerned to write letters to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister once again highlighting the objections of Andhra Pradesh on the new Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal (KWDT-II) in the wake of the gazette notification.
He held a high-level review meeting with Minister for Water Resources Ambati Rambabu, senior officials of the department and legal experts on the new ToR for KWDT-II and the State government’s decision to file a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court challenging the Union Cabinet decision. The river water distribution among the Krishna basin States as per the allocations made by the Bachawat Tribunal Award was discussed at length and the loss to the State as per KWDT-II report.
The officials explained to him that the Union Cabinet’s decision was in violation of Section 89 of the AP Reorganisation Act. The Act specifically states that the two sibling States should abide by the allocation of Krishna River water before bifurcation, they informed.
Further, they pointed out that the Union Cabinet took the decision when the SLPs filed by different States regarding KWDT-II report are still pending before the Supreme Court. This is also in violation of the Interstate River Water Disputes Act, they said.
As per the provisions, the allocated water from the Godavari basin can be diverted to other regions, diversion of water from Polavaram was planned and taking this into consideration, making additional provision to Telangana in the surplus water is not justified and it causes loss to the State, they elaborated.