HYDERABAD: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is busy holding a series of brainstorming sessions with the officials concerned to formulate an official stand on the Jal Shakti Ministry’s gazette notification bringing irrigation projects under the purview of the River Management Boards. Meanwhile, the officials in Irrigation Department while recalling that the Bachawat Tribunal made only en bloc allotment to the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, pointed out that the project-wise allocations were not official.
It may be recalled here that the Andhra Pradesh government already wrote a letter to the Prime Minister stating that the “project-wise” allocations made by Bachawat Tribunal could not be modified or nullified. AP wanted the present system of water sharing to be continued.
There is no official word from the Telangana government on the gazette notification. But, official sources in Irrigation Department recalled that Bachawat Tribunal made only en bloc allocation of water to the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. “The project-wise allocations were made by the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh government, which is not acceptable to the newly formed Telangana,” an official said.
Brijesh Kumar Tribunal
The official sources recalled that a case before Brijesh Kumar Tribunal, as per the provisions of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, was pending. Before the Tribunal, the TS wanted 771 tmcft water in Krishna in the 1,005 tmcft allocated by the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal. Telangana had argued that the State should get at least 70.8 per cent of water, i.e., 574.18 tmcft, of the 811 tmcft assured water allocated by Bachawat Tribunal to the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. The contention of Telangana was that 68.5 per cent Krishna catchment and 72 per cent of the population was in Telangana.
Besides, Telangana also demanded that the fresh allocations should be made as per Section-3 of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956. “While TS is still fighting its cases, the Board cannot take control over the projects,” an official said. The official pointed that TS proposed to use 225 tmcft water for its ongoing projects, 90 tmcft for Palamuru-Rangareddy, 30 tmcft for Dindi, 40 tmcft for SLBC, 40 tmcft for Kalwakurthy and 23.4 tmcft for Nettempadu.
Proposed projects
The State government has also been contemplating taking up projects like Jurala Flood Flow Canal, Koilkonda-Gandeedu projects, new barrage at Alampur to use another 206 tmcft. With this, the total requirement of Krishna waters would be over 730 tmcft, which includes the present quota of 299 tmcft. These projects will provide irrigation to 9.34 lakh acres. Even if all these projects are completed, the leftover lands in the Krishna basin in Telangana, without irrigation, would be around 11 lakh acres, the sources explained. Now, the option before Telangana is to take legal recourse with a request to put the notification in abeyance, till fresh allocation is done for the State.