Telangana would construct a barrage at Alampur-Pedda Marur in the state to lift three TMC of water per day for agriculture if neighbouring Andhra Pradesh does not stop construction of “illegal”projects like Pothireddypadu on Krishna river, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said on Tuesday.
He said the Telangana government would not keep quiet and be ready to protect the interests of its farmers if the AP government “attempts to render injustice to Telangana” in using river waters and tries to “usurp the rights of Telangana”, according to an official release.
Rao was speaking at the second Apex Council meeting convened by the Centre on Tuesday on inter-state water issues. “Chief Minister Sri K Chandrashekhar Rao has made it clear that the Telangana government would construct a Barrage at Alampur-Pedda Marur to lift 3 TMC of water every day for agriculture, if the AP state government fails to stop construction of illegal projects like Potireddypadu and others on Krishna river,” the release said.
Besides Rao, the meeting was attended by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat who is the chairman of the Council. The two CMs attended the meeting through video conferencing.
Rao explained about Telangana’s rights and its share in Krishna and Godavari river waters in the meeting, the release said. He demanded that justice be rendered to the state immediately in this regard.
He said the state government had written to the Centre in 2014, soon after the states formation, seeking constitution of a tribunal under the inter-state water disputes act, 1956 and later filed a petition in the Supreme Court after one year as the Centre did not take any measure. Rao sought immediate formation of a tribunal, the release said.
According to the release, Shekhawat, while assuring to accept Telangana’s demand, stated that they are unable to take any decision as the case is pending in the apex court. Rao, who responded to the comments, said the state government would withdraw its petition in the Supreme Court if the tribunal is constituted, it said.
Rao wanted the Terms of Reference of the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT-2) to be made in accordance with the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014. Allocation of water to projects should be done accordingly, the release said.
After the meeting with the chief ministers, Shekhawat told reporters in Delhi that Telangana has agreed to withdraw the case it filed in the Supreme Court about the sharing of waters of Krishna and Godavari rivers, enabling the Centre to go ahead with referring the issue to a tribunal. It was also agreed to shift the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to Andhra Pradesh, he added.
Under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, an apex council was formed with the Union Jal Shakti minister as the chairman and the chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as its members. The first apex council meeting was held in 2016.
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