The Telangana government has explained in its Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed in the Supreme Court that Krishna water diversion from Srisailam reservoir, a common water storage facility for the two Telugu states after bifurcation of united AP, as being planned by the AP government would allow it to take away over 11.3 tmc ft of water out of the basin.
Both the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project (RLIP) and expansion of Pothireddypadu head regulator (PHR) to increase the water drawal capacity would be detrimental to the interest of the riparian states, particularly Telangana, since both the dependable and surplus water in Krishna has already been tied up by the State for its ongoing project, which also enable taking Krishna water to Penna basin.
Telangana has brought to the notice of the SC that no riparian State has been utilising the additional quantity of water apportioned by the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT)-II or the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal following an interim order passed by the apex court.
“The AP government cannot conduct its affairs to the detriment of the riparian states,” the Telangana government submitted to the court in its petition.
It has also drawn the court’s attention to the fact that the Pothireddypadu head regulator, the source contemplated to divert drinking water to Chennai, was to be confined to diversion capacity of 1,500 cusecs with lined canal, was built to draw 11,150 cusecs with unlined canal to allow drawal of water anywhere in between in violation of the inter-state agreement.
Violation
The violation was also contested by the upper riparian states of Karnataka and Maharashtra before the KWDT-II.
“While the legality of enhancing the diversion capacity to 11,150 cusecs was being adjudicated before KWDT-II, the erstwhile AP had created an additional diversion capacity at PHR by creating new vents with a capacity of 44,000 cusecs and a power channel of 5,000 cusecs, taking the total diversion capacity outside the basin to 60,150 cusecs,” Telangana pointed out in the petition.
The AP government’s unilateral decision in violation of AP Reorganisation Act, KWDT-I and KWDT-II, to construct the RLIP with a capacity to draw 3 tmc ft water a day from the bottom of the reservoir at 797 ft water level against the full reservoir level of 885 ft and further increase in the drawal capacity of PHR to 80,000 cusecs (from 841 ft level) would allow it to divert huge quantity of water (3 tmc ft from the RLIP and 8.31 tmc ft from PHR per day).
“This project (RLIP and PHR expansion) will have an adverse impact on the in-basin utilisation in Telangana depriving water to the projects already in operation and would cause prejudice to it under Section 89 of the AP Reorganisation Act,” Telangana said in the SLP and requested the Supreme Court to restrain AP from taking any action under GO 203 (RLIP) and GO 388 (PHR expansion).
