Andhra Pradesh flays Telangana move to draw water from Krishna basin

VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has condemned the act of the Telangana government for going ahead with hydel power generation by drawing water from the Krishna basin reservoirs affecting the interests of the people in the state.

The Cabinet has also decided to take up the issue to the notice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union minister for jal shakthi Gajendra Singh Shekawat by writing letters to them seeking their intervention to resolve the issue amicably.

The Chief Minister is learnt to have expressed concern over water dispute between both the AP and TS while taking part in the Cabinet meeting and said they would not tolerate any injustice being meted out to the farmers in the state. He reportedly said they were maintaining their composure despite being provoked by critical remarks from Telangana ministers to ensure that people from AP living in Telangana should not face any problem. He asked the ministers to find out what was to be done to safeguard the interests of AP farmers and also directed them to write a letter to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) on the issue.

Later, minister for water resources P. Anil Kumar Yadav told media persons that the AP government was constructing irrigation projects as per norms using only its allocated water. He said that 44,000 cusecs of water from Pothireddypadu project could be drawn only if the water level would reach 881 ft in Srisailam project and added that if the water level touched 854 ft, it would help them draw 5,000 to 6,000 cusecs of water. He also said that Telangana could draw six tmc ft of water if the water level reached 800 ft at Srisailam project.

The minister stated that AP was unable to draw Krishna flood water as water level in Srisailam project was touching 881 ft to 885 ft only for 15-20 days and added that to draw water at full capacity in less time, drawing capacity should be enhanced by setting up lifts at 800 ft level. Referring to the assurance given by the Chief Minister at the apex council meeting that AP would draw only allocated water, the minister said that their government was committed to it.

The minister turned critical on some Telangana ministers for using provocative language and even targeting former CM Y.S Rajasekhar Reddy. Referring to the state Cabinet’s condemnation of Telangana government’s acts of drawing water from Krishna in violation of norms for hydel power generation, the minister said the state government would retaliate to the acts of the TS government at an appropriate time. The minister said the state government was ready to bring projects under the KRMB limits if needed and added that the TS government was expanding various projects like Palampur, Dindi and Nettempadu without obtaining required permissions.