River Board defers take over
No direct supervision of Krishna-based projects by KRMB, for now.
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-12-17 07:55 GMT
Hyderabad: The Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) has deferred taking over control of the Krishna-based projects in TS and AP for effective management, till the final award by the Justice Brijesh Kumar Tribunal is notified by Central government. KRMB moved a proposal to this effect in its third meeting held here on Wednesday, but after a detailed discussion with both the states for and against it, deferred the matter.
Recently, TS Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, in a letter, requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to restrain KRMB from proceeding with the move in view of the matter (allocation of Krishna water) pending before both the Supreme Court and the extended Justice Brijesh Kumar Tribunal. Without adjudication of the matter by both the authorities, it wouldn’t be proper for the KRMB to go ahead with taking over control of the River Krishna-based projects under its direct supervision in the name of effective management, he had said.
However, the AP government insisted that that KRMB was bound by various provisions under AP Reorganisation Act for effective supervision of all the projects under the Krishna. As far as apportionment of available Krishna waters among the two states for the purpose of drinking water, the KRMB said that the three-member committee already constituted for the purpose would continue to monitor the situation and take appropriate decisions.
As on Wednesday, the 30 tmc ft available in Srisailam dam should be used by both the states strictly for drinking purpose till the onset of next monsoon i.e June, 2016.
KRMB once again requested the representatives of the two states to adhere to the guidelines issued on this and reiterated that water level at Nagarjunasagar dam, the principle supplier of water to Hyderabad city, shall not be lowered to below 510 feet.
The KRMB decided to write to Central Water Commission to immediately address concerns regarding safety aspects at Srisailam dam. The CWC had appointed an expert committee with retired engineers to suggest ways to address the safety concerns of the dam and the Committee has submitted its report. The KRMB also decided to seek CWC intervention on this to see steps are taken to restore all safety aspects.
Huge cavities formed in the bucket portion (water dropping from the crest gates of the dam, fall at a point in the downstream) of the dam, before and after the historic flood in 2009, threaten the structure’s foundations. KRMB chairman S.K.G. Pandit, member-secretary R.K. Gupta, principal secretaries of irrigation S.K. Joshi (TS), B. Adityanath Das (AP), Engineers-in-Chief C. Muralidhar (TS) and M. Venkateswara Rao (AP) besides advisor on irrigation for TS R. Vidyasagar Rao attended the meet.
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