News courtesy-The Hindu
Government to wait for full report and discuss its implications with lawyers, engineers
State will not compromise if it is deprived of its fair share and seek clarifications, says Minister
Taking of entire Krishna basin as unit for three States, forming of statutory authority suggested
HYDERABAD: The State government reacted cautiously to the judgment of Krishna Waters Dispute Tribunal headed by Justice Brijesh Kumar Mishra about allocation of Krishna waters here on Thursday.
Although the 12-page order of the Tribunal was available, the government decided to await its 3,000-page report and discuss its implications with advocates and engineers who were yet to return from New Delhi.
Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy told a television news channel that though there were positive and negative aspects in the judgment, the government would wait for the full report.
However, Major Irrigation Minister P. Sudarshan Reddy said the State would not compromise if it was deprived its fair share of Krishna river water and approach the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal for clarifications once it received the full text of judgment. He said he had briefly discussed the tribunal's order with the Chief Minister and there was no question of compromise on the State's share.
Water allocation
Talking to reporters, the Minister said the Tribunal made an allocation of surplus water to all the three riparian states- Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka- while earlier Andhra Pradesh, being the lower riparian State, was solely entitled to use the surplus water. Accordingly, AP could now use 190 tmcft of surplus water, Karnataka 177 tmc and Maharashtra- 81 tmc.
Mr. Reddy maintained that this change in allocation might not significantly affect the seven ongoing projects based on surplus water of the Krishna. The projects, including SLBC, Kalwakurthy, Nettempadu, Hundri-Neeva and Galeru Nagari, were being planned with storage capacity of 227 tmcft of water whereas the State would be entitled to only 190 tmcft.
On the Tribunal allowing Karnataka to increase the height of Almatti by five metres -- from 519.56 metre to 524.256 metres, he said several conditions had been imposed on storage of additional water. Besides, a board would be constituted to monitor the storage of water in Almatti, he added.
He said the State would seek a clarification from the Tribunal the basis on which it had taken into consideration the 65 per cent dependability. The previous allocation was based on 75 per cent dependability, he added.
Injustice feared
Irrigation expert and retired engineer-in-chief T. Hanumantha Rao said that the judgment could end up in injustice to the State. He said the allocation of surplus waters to Karnataka and Maharashtra, the upper riparian states, would practically turn them into assured waters and give them greater benefit.
Andhra Pradesh, on the other hand, might not even get its present assured water of 800 tmcft though the tribunal gave it an allocation of 1,001 tmcft because, as a lower riparian State, it faced the disadvantage of getting water only when it was released by the upper States.
Mr. Rao, UN Consultant for Asian Countries, said the State should seek clarifications from the Tribunal highlighting the injustice in the award. He also suggested that the entire Krishna Basin be taken as a unit for the three States and a statutory authority constituted to monitor the yield into the river.
The Tribunal should also ensure that water was released into the lower riparian State throughout the water year and allocation should be on the basis of 75 per cent dependability, he said.
He also suggested project-wise working table be maintained by the authorities for monitoring the daily flow of water into the projects to ensure equitable distribution. He feared that the latest allocation of waters might affect kharif operations in at least eight districts of the State.
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