Centre to hold meet on Krishna water in June

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HYDERABAD: Though Telangana contended that Andhra Pradesh had drawn more water than its share from Krishna river, the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) has concluded that it was TS which drew water in excess of its share. “Of the 86 tmcft water available in the Krishna, AP was allotted 53.5 tmcft and TS  32.5 tmcft. But TS used 40.5 tmcft water, almost 8 tmcft more than its quota. AP used 7.7 tmcft less water than its quota,” KRMB member-secretary Sameer Chatterjee said after a meeting of the working group here on Wednesday.

The water year ended on May 31. However, when TS drew excess water it cannot be adjusted next year. The less water used by AP cannot be compensated next year. “There is no provision of ‘carry forward’ in the Bachawat Award.  We will place this anomaly before the Union water resources ministry for a permanent solution,” Chatterjee said.

Meanwhile, KRMB, which failed to resolve the disputes between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, decided to seek the intervention of the Union water resources ministry for a permanent mechanism to end disputes between the sibling states.  

“We will raise the disputes between AP and TS before a meeting to be convened by the Union ministry towards the end of June,”  Chatterjee said.

Water for Hyderabad

The working group decided to release 0.86 tmcft water from the Nagarjuna Sagar Project (NSP) to Hyderabad for drinking water needs. The available water at NSP is 502.86 tmcft. AP officials wanted one tmc for the Krishna delta but the meeting rejected the request on the ground that the water level at NSP is to be maintained at 502 feet for supplying drinking water to Hyderabad.

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