AP, TS agree to hand over Nagarjunasagar, Srisailam projects to KRMB control
Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh government has agreed to hand over the Nagarjunasagar project’s control to the Krishna River Management Board. The decision was announced after a meeting of the Union ministry of Jal Shakti in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The Jal Shakti ministry held the meeting between AP and TS, at which water resources principal secretary Shashi Bhushan and engineer-in-chief Narayana Reddy from AP took part.
The meeting was called by Jal Shakti secretary Debashree Mukherjee following a tiff between AP and TS on control and water sharing from Nagarjunasagar project.
Both AP and TS agreed to hand over the Nagarjunasagar project to KRMB for its control and regular maintenance, officials stated.
Similarly, the control of 15 offtakes like reservoirs and other components of both Nagarjunasagar and Srisailam projects - AP has six and TS has nine - is also to be handed over to KRMB.
Water resources secretaries from the two states will meet in the next 15 days to chalk out further course of action and ensure the regular maintenance of these projects.
AP water resources principal secretary Shashi Bhushan said, “We have agreed to hand over both Nagarjunasagar and Srisailam projects to KRMB for their regular maintenance.”
Notably, tension had mounted between AP and TS on the issue of having their access and control on Nagarjunasagar project. AP took control of the dam gates from 14 to 26, in protest against the TS move to deny AP the rights on Krishna waters in both Nagarjunasagar and Srisailam projects.
In 2014, there was an agreement for TS to control Nagarjunasagar project and AP to handle Srisailam project as part of AP Reorganisation Act, during bifurcation of united AP into Telangana and AP.
