Minister for Major Irrigation Devineni Umamaheswara Rao has requested Union Minister of Water Resources Uma Bharti to intervene and instruct the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to take full control over the multi-purpose projects on Krishna river, according to the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Re-Organisation Act and protect “legitimate water usage rights” of the State.
The Minister, who was in New Delhi to attend the second meeting of the special committee for inter-linking of rivers, in a representation to the Union Minister, said that despite several requests from the State and directions from the KRMB to follow the protocol of operation, the Telangana government was not releasing water from the Nagarjunasagar reservoir to meet the legitimate requirements of the State.
The Minister further said that A.P., which was downstream, would be put to tremendous hardship and loss, if the upstream Telangana was given the control of operations of the head regulators and other irrigation structures, he said.
Harish complains
Hyderabad Special Correspondent adds: Telangana Irrigation Minister T. Harish Rao complained to Minister Uma Bharti against the attitude of A.P. in sharing Krishna river waters.
Along with Advisor to Telangana Government on irrigation R. Vidyasagar Rao, he met the Union Minister separately after the meeting on interlinking rivers in the country and submitted a memorandum to her on the riparian rights of Telangana over Krishna waters explaining how A.P. was preventing Telangana from utilising its lawful share of water.
The Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) has failed to strike an accord between the two States on the utilisation of over 102 tmcft live storage of water in the two reservoirs as the two States are claiming that the other State has utilised water in excess its allocation already this year.
Engingeer-in-Chief (Irrigation) of AP M. Venkateswara Rao has already written to the KRMB seeking its intervention and directions to Telangana to allow utilisation of water in the Krishna delta System for last couple of wettings to the standing crop. However, Telangana is arguing that it is yet to utilise 117 tmcft of its allocated share and wants it for rabi crop under Nagarjunasagar left bank canal. Speaking to reporters after the meeting on interlinking of rivers, Mr. Harish Rao said Talangana was not against it but he had explained the State’s doubts at the meeting. Drought could be driven away from the country by linking rivers in the North with those in the South, he felt.
