The Telangana government is weighing its options on the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal judgement on Krishna waters which ruled that Section 89 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act is applicable only to Telangana and AP and not to the four riparian States.
Although there was no official reaction to the development either from the Irrigation Minister or from the senior officials of the Irrigation Department till late on Wednesday night, official sources said a stand would be taken only after getting the full copy of the judgement.
“The Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is expected to have a huddle on the issue once the copy is received,” a senior official told The Hindu .
Moving SC an option
On the options available to the Telangana government in the matter, the sources said it could make another attempt before the tribunal when the opportunity is given to submit its views on December 14 or else the Supreme Court could be moved against the verdict.
However, the chances of turning to the second option were less since a special leave petition on the issue was already pending in the Supreme Court.
The sources admitted that the government had been hoping against the hope that the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal would consider its plea that injustice was done to it in the matter of Krishna water sharing from the beginning. However, the judgement has left the State disappointed since the tribunal has not considered the contention that combined Andhra Pradesh was discriminated in water allocation by the tribunal, which finalised and submitted its report to the Centre in 2010 itself.
Speaking after the judgement, Advisor to Government (Irrigation) R. Vidyasagar Rao expressed disappointment and said the government would chalk out its future course of action after going through the judgement and taking legal opinion. He, however, said the option of moving the Supreme Court against the tribunal verdict on Section 89 was also open.
“It appears that the tribunal has overlooked our contention that injustice is done to Telangana,” he opined.
Senior irrigation engineer Shyam Prasad Reddy also expressed similar views and suggested that the State government must move the Supreme Court to protect its interests.
Meanwhile, Additional Advocate General J. Ramachandra Rao said in New Delhi that the option of moving the Supreme Court was open.
