The Welfare Association of Water Users and Ayacautdars in Andhra Pradesh has strongly objected to the statement made by Telangana Engineer-in-Chief (EnC) C. Muralidhar that the ayacut under the Nagarjunasagar Left Canal was increased to 3.67 lakh acres from 1.30 lakh acres.
Association State president Alla Gopalakrishna Rao, in a statement on Wednesday, said that the statement that Andhra Pradesh had increased the ayacut under the Nagarjunasagar Left Canal after the State bifurcation in 2014 lacked truth.
“Nalgonda in Telangana comes under the zone-1 of Nagarjunasagar Left Canal while Khammam falls under the zone-2. As much as 6.62 lakh acre in these two districts forms part of the left canal. Also, another 1.57 lakh acre under the zone-2 and 2.10 lakh acre under the zone-3 in Andhra Pradesh come under the left canal. It takes the total ayacut to 10.29 lakh acre. Both States have availed of world bank funds for development of the ayacut. Mr. Muralidhar should be aware of these facts,” he said.
Mr. Rao said further that the Telangana government had taken up projects to utilise 255 tmcft of water without any permissions from the Central Water Commission (CWC), Apex council, or the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB). As a result, 15 lakh acres under the left and right canals in A.P., 13 lakh acres in the Krishna delta, 2 lakh acres under the SRBC would be affected. “A total of 30 lakh acres would go dry due to the projects in Telangana,” he said. The farmers approached the Supreme Court in 2016 in this regard, and repeated appeals were being made before the KRMB, Union Ministry of Jal Shakti.
“Mr. Muralidhar should clarify these aspects. The Andhra Pradesh government should take necessary steps to protect the rights of farmers in the State,” said Mr. Gopalakrishna Rao.
