VIJAYAWADA: Making it clear that there is no question of losing the rights of Andhra Pradesh State on the Krishna river waters, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directed officials to place strong arguments before the Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal (KWDT II).
Asserting that there is no possibility of any change in the water allocations made to the State, the Chief Minister insisted that the water share allocated to the State by law should continue as usual.
Chairing a review meeting with officials of the Water Resources Department at the State Secretariat on Wednesday, Naidu recalled that the erstwhile combined Andhra Pradesh had received 811 TMC of Krishna river water, which was redistributed between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana after the State’s bifurcation.
While 512 TMC of water was awarded to Andhra Pradesh, KWDT II allocated 299 TMC of Krishna river water to Telangana.
Stating that it would not be fair to reopen the sharing of Krishna river water on grounds of State bifurcation, the Chief Minister suggested that officials act cordially with neighbouring States in the use of flood waters, as thousands of TMC of water flow into the sea each year.
State reservoirs hold 1,095 TMC
Underscoring the need for effective water management measures to make the State drought free and to provide water security to all districts, the Chief Minister suggested that officials conduct a scientific study to determine why several reservoirs have not reached full reservoir level despite abundant rains.
The officials explained to the Chief Minister that 1,095 TMC of water reserves existed in major, medium and minor reservoirs in the State as of November 25. They said all reservoirs in the State were filled to 83.43 percent of their total capacity.
Naidu suggested that officials fill the reservoirs by lift if they do not reach the full level through gravity. The officials also informed that groundwater levels in the State had risen to 6.8 metres this year compared with 7.45 metres last year.
With regard to the progress of the Polavaram project, the officials said that work on the diaphragm wall had been completed 73 percent so far and that construction will be finished by February 2026. They reported that the buttress dam works had already been completed.