CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has not received its full share of 12 tmcft of Krishna water from Andhra Pradesh for the past three decades. Despite the neighbouring state’s willingness to release water, TN has struggled to release its share due to a lack of storage facilities in and around Chennai, and alleged illegal water tapping from the open canal before it even reaches the state.
According to Water Resources Department’s (WRD) data accessed by TNIE, since 1996, the total water received (112 Tmcft) by TN is only one-third of its total entitlement (340 Tmcft).
Under the inter-state agreement signed on April 18, 1983, AP has to release 12 Tmcft of water to Tamil Nadu annually, excluding evaporation losses of 3 Tmcft. The agreement stipulates that 8 Tmcft should be released from July to October, and 4 Tmcft from January to April.
Krishna water first reached Tamil Nadu at Uthukottai in Tiruvallur district in September 1996.
Illegal tapping of water from the open canal is the main reason for Tamil Nadu unable to realise its share. “Water is released from the Kandaleru dam in Andhra Pradesh through an open canal. Due to illegal tapping, Tamil Nadu faces difficulties in receiving the full supply. We have informed the Andhra Pradesh government several times, but no action has been taken yet,” an official said.
The official also mentioned that the state government, under the late CM J Jayalalithaa, had planned to lay pipelines in 2014 to prevent such issues. The project was dropped owing to financial constraints.
Stressing on the need to increase storage capacity to meet future water demands, he pointed out that during the North-East monsoon, Chennai’s reservoirs often fill up naturally, making it hard to store Krishna water, and gets diverted to the sea.
The WRD has proposed several measures, including increasing the depth of the Poondi reservoir and desilting major tanks, which could add up to 2 Tmcft of storage.
The Thiruppugazh Committee has also suggested reconsidering the Ramenjeri reservoir project near Uthukottai, which has been under discussion for some time.