The Karnataka government has offered to release water from Alamatti dam for crops and other purposes in Andhra Pradesh “in time”, that is after the kharif season begins, if Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra allow it to increase the dam height to 524 metres.
Karnataka made its proposal before the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal on the Krishna Waters on Monday in New Delhi through its counsel with intimation to Andhra Pradesh's counsel P. Sudharshan Reddy, according to Shailender Kumar Joshi, Secretary, Irrigation.
Sources said the Karnataka government had taken this stand in compliance with a consensus arrived at the all-party meeting convened by its Chief Minister with leaders of Opposition parties on Alamatti recently. (The Supreme Court, disposing of the Alamatti, had restricted the height to 519.66 metres. It said any further increase in height by Karnataka would be at its cost and risk.)
Mr. Joshi said Karnataka offered to maintain such water levels in the Alamatti reservoir throughout the kharif season that Andhra Pradesh would get adequate quantities of water for irrigation. The offer came in response to the complains by Andhra Pradesh that the kharif season for the established ayacuts in the State, including that of Krishna delta (over 14 lakh acres) and that under Nagarjunasagar (nearly 25 lakh acres) was getting postponed by three months every year.
He said Maharashtra had made a flip-flop by stating afresh that it would not oppose increase in height of Alamatti.
