HYDERABAD: The Telangana government has made it clear that it wants at least 50% of the benefits from the Godavari - Cauvery linking project to be accrued to the state and that the water allocations mandated by the Tribunal should not be affected.
In a recent meeting of the National Water Development Authority (NWDA) governing body, the state government presented its views on linking the Godavari and Cauvery rivers.
According to the minutes of the meeting, Telangana Engineer-in-Chief G Anil Kumar informed NWDA that the proposals for the area to be brought under irrigation and the required storages at two locations would be submitted soon. He also briefed the NDWA about the location of the Sammakka Sarakka barrage with respect to Ichampalli barrage.
During the meeting, Chief Engineer (Hydrology) of Andhra Pradesh TVNA Ratna Kumar raised the issue of diversion point. He requested diversion of water from Polavaram barrage and not Ichampalli, so that lower riparian rights are not affected. He also suggested revision of water balance studies as many new projects have come up.
Meanwhile, the chairperson of NWDA governing body and Secretary, Jal Shakti Ministry, Debashree Mukherjee appealed to the party states of this project — Telangana, AP, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu — to adopt a spirit of “give and take” as they needed to arrive at a consensus as soon as possible. “States should think in the national interest and come forward with a positive approach,” Mukherjee stated. She said that states can also discuss their views with each other to arrive at some solution.
To expedite consensus building for this project, she revealed that a special meeting will be organised soon.