The Andhra Pradesh Water Resources officials are bamboozled over the silence of their Central Government counterparts in convening the Apex Council to resolve the dispute over the Palamuru-Ranga Reddy and Dindi Lift Irrigation Schemes being taken up by Telangana on the Krishna. The Supreme Court in a directive on July 20 asked the Centre to “convene a meeting of the Apex Council, as early as possible, for discussing the issues pending with regard to the new projects being undertaken by the State of Telangana.”
Telangana called for tenders for these two irrigation projects that would lift water from the foreshore of Srisailam dam and even finalised them. The Andhra Pradesh Government contended they were not approved by the Krishna Water Apex Council constituted as per the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Re-organisation Act.
Alla Venkata Gopala Krishna Rao, member of the Farmers Apex Committee constituted by the A.P. Government under the provisions of the A.P. Farmers’ Management of Irrigation Systems Act, 1997, approached the Supreme Court. The Secretary of Water Resources, Government of A.P., wrote a letter to his counterpart in New Delhi on July 23 quoting the directive.
Though the matter is of great urgency, there has been no response from New Delhi, officials of the State feel.
