Andhra Pradesh satisfied with Supreme Court verdict

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, APRIL 25. Andhra Pradesh has welcomed the Supreme Court judgment on the Alamatti issue as being fair.

`Justice has been done. It has protected our rights as per the Bachawat (Krishna water dispute tribunal) award. This is what we have been fighting for', the Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, said on Tuesday.

Mr. Naidu reacted to the judgment in an informal meeting with reporters at the Jubilee Hall where he held Janmabhoomi preparatory meeting with secretaries and heads of departments.

Apart from ensuring that Karnataka restricted the height of the dam at Alamatti to 519 metres, the other significant achievement for the State is the `rejection' of Karnataka's plea to take up Scheme B.

Mr. Chandrababu Naidu said the State's interests would have suffered irreparable loss had Karnataka been allowed to raise the Alamatti dam height to 524 m., thereby impounding an additional 105 to 110 tmc ft of water. As a lower riparian State, Andhra Pradesh would have been in a serious predicament in a bad year. It would not get any flows. To that extent, the judgment had helped the State. Andhra Pradesh was also allowed to use surplus waters in Krishna river as per the award.

He said it was not Andhra Pradesh, but Karnataka, which went to the court for Scheme B. Seeking a political solution to the inter-State dispute, a committee of four Chief Ministers (West Bengal, Assam, Bihar and Tamil Nadu) was set up in January 1997 during the United Front rule and an experts group constituted by them inspected the sites in both States and held the view that Karnataka could go up to only 519 m at which level it could hold 173 tmc ft. Karnataka had pleaded for 524 m and went ahead with fabrication of suitable crest gates.

Karnataka went to the Supreme Court seeking implementation of Scheme B even as Andhra Pradesh joined in praying that the apex court restrict Karnataka from raising the dam height. Meanwhile, Maharashtra also joined the dispute, following which the Supreme Court heard the arguments of all the three States.

Mr. Naidu said the Supreme Court allowed the dam height up to 519 m at Alamatti and felt 524.6 metres was not necessary. Similarly consideration of Scheme `B' also was not entertained. The next tribunal would decide about Scheme `B'. The 519 m height also was subject to clearances by various Central ministries and agencies.

He thanked the legal experts - Messrs K. Parasaran, Ganguly, N. V. Ramana - and P. K. Aggarwal, Principal Secretary, Ch. Umamaheswara Rao, Additional Secretary, and other irrigation officials for their relentless efforts to secure justice for the State.

The Chief Minister also thanked leaders of the political parties who consistently stood by him in the larger interests of the State during the many all-party meetings on the issue.

Earlier, the Minister for Major Irrigation, Mr. Mandava Venkateswara Rao, met Messrs M. V. Mysoora Reddy (Congress), B. V. Raghavulu (CPM), Asaduddin Owaisi (MIM) and other leaders, apprised them of the Supreme Court judgment and thanked them for their continued cooperation to the Government.

Mr. Venkateswara Rao called it `a justified judgment'.

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Section  : Regional
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