Ensure Krishna tribunal allocates 70% share to TG: Revanth urges officials
Hyderabad:Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Saturday directed officials to prepare and present robust arguments before the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal to secure 70 per cent of the 1,005 tmc ft of water available in the Krishna River.
Citing international water-sharing principles and geographical considerations, the Chief Minister said that water allocation should reflect the proportion of the river basin located in each state. With 70 per cent of the Krishna basin situated in Telangana, he underscored the state's rightful claim to a larger share of the water as against that of Andhra Pradesh.
He criticised the AP government for allegedly drawing more water than the quota allocated to it. To address this, he approved the installation of
telemetry systems for real-time measurement of water usage.
While the system's installation cost is shared equally between the two states at ₹12 crore, the Chief Minister authorised Telangana to advance the entire amount to expedite the process, with reimbursement from AP expected later.
During a meeting held on the irrigation sector, the Chief Minister discussed strategies for resolving the inter-state disputes over Krishna and Godavari waters. He said that AP uses 80 tmc ft of Godavari water for the Krishna delta through the Polavaram project, while only 45 tmc ft has been allocated to Telangana upstream of Nagarjunasagar. He instructed officials to implement plans to fully utilise Telangana’s share of water through upstream projects.
The Chief Minister questioned reliance on decisions by the Krishna and Godavari River Management Boards (KRMB and GRMB) before the completion of the Brajesh Kumar Tribunal’s water-sharing process. He suggested taking the matter to the Supreme Court, if required.
Officials were instructed to obtain clearances for pending projects like Sitarama project and Sammakka barrage.
Reddy urged the irrigation department to finalise a comprehensive report documenting the state's grievances since its formation in 2014, including government orders, project DPRs, and historical judgments.
The Brajesh Kumar Tribunal, constituted under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, has been tasked with allocating Krishna water between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and addressing project-wise allocations.
The officials informed the Chief Minister on the current status, while stating that the tribunal had collected opinions and evidence but is yet to
pronounce its final verdict. Reddy emphasised the need for well-structured and sequential presentations before the tribunal to safeguard Telangana’s water rights.
The meeting was attended by key legal and administrative personnel, including standing counsel C.S. Vaidyanathan, advocate general A. Sudarshan Reddy, additional AG Tera Rajinikanth Reddy, government lawyer Khush Vora and advisor Adityanath Das, CM’s principal secretary V. Seshadri, CM’s secretary K. Manicka Raj, and irrigation secretaries Rahul Bojja and Prashant Patil.
