Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are making arguments before the Justice Brijesh Kumar Tribunal (the second Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal) for final allocation of assured (not surplus) Krishna waters between them.
Telangana is appealing to the tribunal to restrict Andhra Pradesh from supplying water to the drought-prone Rayalaseema region in particular so that it can get a greater share in the 291.45 tmcft assured water (at 75% dependability) the tribunal has to allocate based on the existing ayacuts and other yardsticks.
A.P. irrigation officials, however, opine that Telangana is targeting the Rayalaseema area.
While the Godavari, on an average, discharges between 1,000 and 3,000 tmcft flood (surplus) waters into the Bay of Bengal annually, there has been on floods in the Krishna for the last several years, and consequently no surplus discharged into the sea.
A minimum of 16 tmcft water should be released downstream the Prakasam barrage into the sea as minimum environmental flow. But even that is not happening.
The main reasons for paucity of water is the number of projects that have come up on the Krishna in the upstream States of Maharashtra and Karnataka, and Telangana after bifurcation.
Andhra Pradesh is the last State the river crosses before the Krishna joins the sea.
Though the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal gave its final verdict on November 29, 2013, the Supreme Court, in response to a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by Andhra Pradesh, asked the Government of India not to accept the tribunal’s final verdict until it was re-examined to see that there was no violation of the Interstate River Water Disputes Act, 1956 (amended in 2002). The bifurcation of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and the creation of TS brought the issue of allocation of the Krishna waters to the two States again before the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal.
Key averments
Telangana has asked the tribunal to restrict A.P. from drawing water while allowing it to draw freely from Jurala, Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar projects.
An important averment made by the TS before the tribunal was restricting diversion by A.P. from Pothireddypadu Head Regulator to just 1,500 cusecs intended only for Chennai water supply. Telangana also urged the tribunal to grant it liberty to use all water surplus to average yield in Jurala, Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar projects.
It has staked this claim on the basis that the deficiencies in the Krishna Basin be met before meeting the needs of Ralayaseema, which does not fall under the Krishna Basin.
Telangana also asked the tribunal to allocate a part of the 45 tmcft Godavari waters that are being used by Andhra Pradesh through the Pattiseema Lift Irrigation scheme.
Andhra Pradesh irrigation officials said Telangana should then share with Andhra Pradesh the 214 tmcft Godavari waters it was utilising through several projects.
AP officials say they will contest the concept of inter-basin transfer of water Telangana is trying to use to stop Rayalaseema from getting the Krishna waters.
In these days of climate change, lifting water from one river basin to another cannot be avoided, they say.
The concept of restricting water to the river basin is something new TS is trying to use against A.P., say the officials.
