In a significant decision, the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) has allocated 36 tmcft of water to Andhra Pradesh and 15 tmcft to Telangana for September.
The allocations are against the 47 tmcft requisitioned by Andhra Pradesh and 40 tmcft sought by Telangana on Friday. The allocation to Andhra Pradesh had been on the higher side as the state insisted that it would need more water during September, but the Board asserted that the 63:37 ratio would ultimately be maintained between the two States.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the three-member committee, comprising KRMB member-secretary Sameer Chatterjee and engineers-in-chief of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh C. Muralidhar and M. Venkateswara Rao here on Saturday. The panel met again on Saturday as the Board could not arrive at a consensus on Friday.
At the close to two-hour meeting, it was decided to maintain the 63:37 ratio for next month. Of the 15 tmcft allocated to Telangana, 12 tmcft would be for the Nagarjunasagar left canal and 1.5 tmcft each for meeting the drinking water requirements of Hyderabad, and the A. Madhav Reddy irrigation project.
Of the allocation made to Andhra Pradesh, 10 tmcft each would be released for the Krishna delta system and the Pothireddypadu and Nagarjunasagar right canal, four tmcft to Handri-Neeva Sujala Sravanthi, and two tmcft to the left bank canal.
“For the time being, the requirement of Andhra Pradesh is more. Ultimately, we will maintain the ratio,” Mr. Chatterjee said. He said the discussion point on Saturday was confined to September, and a similar meeting would be held in the last week of next month to finalise releases for October.
Sources said the requirement of Telangana had been brought down significantly as the state had decided to defer the release of water to Khammam.
The meeting had resolved to strike a balance as the prospects in the season were not encouraging so far. “We have to calculate keeping the barest minimum requirements for the season and ensuring survival of the standing crop,” said a member.
The meeting did not discuss consumption by minor irrigation sources in the two States as a sub-committee had been constituted to examine it. The sub-committee is expected to submit its report within 15 days based on which the Board would take a view on the overall distribution of water between the two riparian States.
