HYDERABAD: A regional conference of southern states on water resources will be held here on Monday. Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will attend the meeting, along with irrigation ministers and officials from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry.
The main agenda of the meeting is the linking of rivers, as well as the shortage of drinking water in Chennai and the Cauvery river water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
The upcoming conference assumes significance as it is being held after the Parliament adopted the Inter-State Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill recently. It may be noted that though Telangana is not against the linking of rivers in the country, it has already requested the Centre to first link the rivers Mahanadi and Godavari, and then only divert Godavari waters to Cauvery.
Telangana’s argument is that the Centre should ensure that the water requirements of the State should be met first, as it needs around 1,500 tmcft of water from both Godavari and Krishna rivers. The state also expects the Centre to carry out a detailed study of the water availability in Godavari before diverting its waters to Tamil Nadu or Karnataka.
Agenda
The main agenda of the meeting is the linking of rivers, the shortage of drinking water in Chennai and the Cauvery water dispute between TN and Karnataka