The government of Andhra Pradesh is veering round to the view that the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal had made wrong calculations based on “certain mathematical errors” while evolving the formula for distribution of Krishna waters among Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
The government is preparing grounds to file a review petition before the tribunal headed by Brijesh Kumar, seeking rectification of these calculations and errors. The development follows the observations of a 15-member legal team, which made an in-depth study of the implications of the latest award on Krishna water sharing. The team comprised technical experts, including those who served the Central Water Commission.
Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy is expected to take a final view on the issue on Monday after a meeting with Major Irrigation Minister P. Sudharshan Reddy and senior officials. Though a section of experts preferred approaching the Supreme Court to secure justice to the State, the move was not being considered favourably at this stage. The State had a case for approaching the apex court, at least in respect of the height of the Almatti dam as it was the Supreme Court that fixed the height at 519.6 metres through an order, disposing of a petition filed by Andhra Pradesh more than a decade ago.
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Sources in the government said the State would seek the Supreme Court's intervention as a last resort if did not get justice from the tribunal.
A major “mathematical error” identified by the government with the help of legal/technical experts is that it assessed the water availability in the Krishna “oddly” at 65 per cent dependability, that too covering a limited period as in the case of the Narmada. Hitherto, the availability in the Krishna is reckoned at 75 per cent dependability for a longer period (more than a century) in line with the standard formula adopted all over the world.