Centre to fix jurisdiction of river boards

Meeting called to resolve differences between A.P. and Telangana on sharing Krishna, Godavari waters

Crucial talks: Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat at the apex council meeting in New Delhi. Andhra Pradesh CM Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy took part through video conferencing.

The Centre will determine the jurisdictions of the Krishna and Godavari river management boards (KRMB and GRMB), Union Water Resources Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said on Tuesday.

He was speaking after convening an apex council meeting involving the Centre, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the second since 2016. The meeting is primarily to resolve the conflict between the two States over executing irrigation projects and sharing water from the Krishna and Godavari rivers.

The key points on the agenda at Thursday’s meeting which was convened via videoconference are: jurisdiction of the KRMB and GRMB, submission of Detailed Project Reports (DPR) of new projects by the two governments for appraisal and sanction by the Apex Council, establishing a mechanism to determine the share of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the Krishna and Godavari waters, and shifting the headquarters of the Krishna River Management Board to Andhra Pradesh.

“The Centre will go ahead with notifying the jurisdiction of both KRMB & GRMB. Telangana Chief Minister dissented on this, but as per the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, no consensus is needed. Both Chief Ministers agreed to submit the DPRs of all the projects taken up by their States. Their technical appraisal will be done in the shortest possible timeframe,” said Mr. Shekhawat.

The headquarters of the KRMB would be located in Andhra Pradesh, he added.

With regards to sharing of river waters, the Telangana Chief Minister agreed to withdraw the case filed in Supreme Court, to allow the Centre to refer water sharing issues to the Krishna Godavari tribunal.

Regarding the sharing of Godavari waters, both the States were asked to send in their requests to the Centre so that it could refer them to the tribunal, a statement from the Water Resources Ministry said.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and his Telangana counterpart K. Chandrasekhar Rao had taken tough stands on projects such as the Rayalaseema lift irrigation scheme and enhancement of the carrying capacity of the Pothireddypadu head regulator.