A technical committee appointed by the Central Water Commission (CWC) to look into Telangana’s charge of Andhra Pradesh utilising the lion’s share of water available in the 2019-20 water year without accounting for it, has asked the two States to furnish the details of water availed from the two common reservoirs — Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar — by month-end.
The five-member technical committee headed by CWC chief engineer in its irrigation management organisation (IMO) Vijai Saran held a video-conference from New Delhi on Wednesday with the engineers of Telangana, AP and the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) and discussed the issue in detail.
According to sources, the A.P. representative insisted that there was no need to account for surplus water availed by the State, although the Telangana official persisted with the argument that there was every need for it to avoid controversies in future too.
The KRMB, represented by its member Harikesh Meena, explained to the committee chief that as against 811 tmcft allocated to combined A.P. by the R.S. Bachawat Tribunal (KWDT-I), which is in force now, the water realised in the basin in Telangana and A.P. was about 980 tmcft this year. Telangana has been contending that the lion’s share of surplus water was availed by A.P., but A.P. has been insisting that there was no need to account for it since it was surplus flow.
Sources said A.P. has either already availed or plans to avail 680 tmcft and the quantity availed or planned to be availed by the month-end when the water year comes to an end is 300 tmcft. As per the working arrangement in vogue, the two States are supposed to utilise the allocated water in 512:299 tmcft ratio.
KRMB favours formula
The KRMB too has been in favour of having a formula to share the surplus flows too till the award of the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal (KWDT-II) comes into effect. The CWC too has insisted that the two States furnish the details of water realised and availed from the common reservoirs this water year.
The details to be furnished by the two States as well as by the KRMB would be discussed at the next meeting of the technical committee slated for the first week of June.
