Hyderabad, Feb 18 (IANS): The government of Telangana has decided to lodge a complaint with the Centre against Andhra Pradesh for drawing more water from the Krishna river than its allocated share.
Taking serious note of Andhra Pradesh’s action, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Monday asked the Irrigation department officials to lodge a complaint with the Centre against Andhra Pradesh for excessive utilisation of Krishna water.
The Chief Minister said that the Centre should take the responsibility of stopping Andhra Pradesh from utilizing more water than it is allocated share.
At a review meeting along with Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, he asked the officials of the Irrigation department to be more alert in utilising Krishna water from Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar projects.
He felt that the telemetry system is the only solution to prevent Andhra Pradesh from utilising water in excess of its prescribed quota. The officials brought to the attention of the Chief Minister that the Andhra Pradesh government was not coming forward with paying their share of funds required for the installation of the telemetry system.
The Chief Minister instructed Irrigation Principal Secretary Rahul Bojja to write a letter to Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) immediately informing that all the funds required for the implementation of the telemetry system are being paid by the Telangana government and to take necessary steps for the telemetry immediately.
Revanth Reddy stated that the responsibility of allocation of water shares between two states and calculating the consumption of water shares lies with the Central Water Commission.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K.T. Rama Rao had Sunday charged the Congress government in the state with allowing Andhra Pradesh to divert Krishna water unchecked. He alleged that the state government’s inaction had resulted in Andhra Pradesh’s free-for-all action.
Rama Rao claimed that Andhra Pradesh has already consumed 646 TMC from Krishna, siphoning off 10,000 cusecs per day through the Nagarjuna Sagar right canal for the last three months, while the Revanth Reddy government remains a mute spectator.
The Chief Minister also directed officials to release water to crops from various projects in the state as per the plan. He asked them to take appropriate precautions by assessing severe hot conditions in advance in summer and also be vigilant for the next three months.
The officials should conduct field visits regularly and take action by monitoring the situation, the Chief Minister said, making it clear that all necessary precautions should be taken so that farmers do not face any hurdles and protect the crops in the heat conditions.
The officials briefed the Chief Minister about water levels in the projects and reservoirs and the utilisation of water sources in the major projects, including Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar and SRSP. He alerted the officials to utilise available water in the projects judiciously to meet drinking water and irrigation needs to avoid any water crisis in summer.
Revanth Reddy emphasised that the next three months are very crucial and water demand for irrigation, drinking water and electricity will increase significantly in all parts of the state.