The Cabinet Sub-committee constituted to decide whether to approach the Supreme Court on the recent decision of the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal (KWDT-II) that bifurcation did not alter the allocation of Krishna River water to Maharashtra and Karnataka had detailed deliberations with A K Ganguli, senior counsel representing A.P. in the Supreme Court, here on Sunday. Mr. Ganguli and his legal team explained the nuances of the case to sub-committee members Devineni Umamaheswara Rao (Water Resources), Ravella Kishore Babu (Social Welfare) and Paritala Sunitha (Civil Supplies).
Talking to the media after the meeting, Mr. Umamaheswara Rao said the sub-committee had taken the opinion of the legal experts and the next step would be taken after discussing the matter with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and the Cabinet. Mr. Ganguli explained that the Tribunal had made it very clear that the fresh allocation to all four States was against the provisions of the Reorganisation Act. He told the sub-committee that there was no mention about distribution or reallocation of water to all the four States in Section 89 and much less about allocation to Telangana.
Mr. Ganguli explained that Section 89 had nothing to do with the distribution of water either among the four States or withdrawal of allocation made for utilisation outside the Krishna Basin, for example Rayalaseema. It also does not state anything about withdrawal of allocation on the basis of water saved utilising recent scientific developments. Mr. Umamaheswara Rao said the reason for the legal entanglement was the “no objection” given by the former YSR Government to new projects in Karnataka and Maharashtra. He said they had time till December end to challenge the decisions of the Tribunal.
