Even though the Andhra Pradesh government has been insisting that arguments on the sharing of waters in accordance with Section 89 of the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Act should be heard first, the tribunal decided against it.
Published Jan 17, 2025 | 4:27 PM ⚊ Updated Jan 17, 2025 | 4:27 PM
Krishna river near Srisailam dam. (Wikimedia)
Telangana had a stroke of luck when the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal (Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal-II) decided to take up a hearing first on the fresh terms of reference referred to it by the Union government under section 3 of the Inter-state River Water Dispute Act (IRWDA), 1950.
Even though the Andhra Pradesh government has been insisting that arguments on the water sharing under Section 89 of the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Act should be heard first, the tribunal decided against it on Thursday, 16 January.
The tribunal will first hear the arguments in accordance with the IRWD Act, from 19 February to 21 February.
Telangana Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy hailed the development as the victory of the people of Telangana. He said the decision of the tribunal kindled the hope that Telangana would soon have its rightful share in Krishna waters.
The Congress government in Telangana has been objecting to the ad-hoc distribution of Krishna waters between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana after the division of the state in 2014 in the ratio of 521:299 of the total 811 tmcft allocated to the state by the KWDT-II Award, issued on 31 May 1976. The volume of water is being divided between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh under the ad-hoc agreement.
Even though the KWDT-II Award with clarifications was issued in 2013, a year ahead of the division of the state, making water allocation to the combined state of Andhra Pradesh, it did not come into force.
It allocated 512 tmcft to Andhra Pradesh from the 75 percent dependable flows in the river, as part of the total allocation among all the then three riparian states — Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
The KWDT-II award has not yet been notified as Telangana had sought in 2015 a fresh tribunal to reassess the allocations for which the fresh terms of reference were given to the KWDT-II in 2023 to decide on the share of waters between the two states.
The government has been insisting that Telangana is entitled to a larger share in the Krishna waters. It bases its argument on the catchment area. The government says Telangana should get an allocation of 555 tmcft as Krishna’s catchment area in Telangana is about 68.5 percent.
The then BRS government objected to section 89 of the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Act, which favoured the distribution of water to the two states without making any allocations projects-wise. The government, in 2015, moved the Supreme Court, with a plea that a fresh tribunal be constituted to decide the share of waters for Telangana as per section 3 of the IRWDA, 1950.
The apex council, which was constituted under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act to resolve inter-state river water disputes between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, said at its meeting on 6 October 2020, that it would either issue fresh terms of reference to the existing tribunal (KWDT-II) or constitute a fresh tribunal if the state government withdrew its petition in the Supreme Court.
According to Uttam Kumar Reddy, the then chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had asserted that he would withdraw the petition in just a matter of one day but did not do it till June 2021.
Two years after the state filed its withdrawal petition, the apex court consented. Finally, in October 2023, the Union government issued fresh terms of reference to the KWDT-II to decide on the distribution of waters between the two states.
Telangana government believes that if Brijesh Kumar Tribunal (KWDT-II) first hears arguments in accordance with section 3 of the IRWDA, 1950, justice would be done to Telangana.
However, Andhra Pradesh has been insisting on the tribunal to hear first the arguments in accordance with section 89 of the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Act. Even though Andhra Pradesh moved the Supreme Court, no stay was granted and on the other hand, the former was asked to appear before the tribunal.
Section 3 of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act provides a mechanism to address new disputes by establishing tribunals, including KWDT-I or KWDT-II while Section 89 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act ensures the continuity of existing tribunal awards and provides a legal framework for the equitable sharing of river waters between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana post-bifurcation.
The Brijesh Kumar Tribunal (KWDT-II) felt that since the sections of the two Acts differ on several aspects but overlap in others, giving a uniform order might create problems and therefore, the arguments on the two sections would be heard separately.
As section 3 of the IRWD deals with the allocation of waters between the two states, the tribunal felt it would be prudent to hear arguments on this provision first and take up arguments on section 89 of the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Act for allocating water, projects-wise.
The Adhoc Water Sharing Agreement between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana after the bifurcation of the state in 2014:
The total water allocated to the combined state is 811 tmcft (Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal -I, 1976).
The Krishna River Management Board (KRMB), set up under the bifurcation act made the ad-hoc distribution of the waters between the two states:
The allocation was based on the extent of the command area
Role of KRMB
The KRMB was set under the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Act with the responsibility of monitoring the operation of projects on the Krishna River and resolving disputes between the two states. The two riparian states refused to accept KRMB’s management of the projects.
Major projects on Krishna river:
Even before the formation of Telangana, the leaders of the Telangana movement used to accuse Andhra leaders of hijacking the waters of the Krishna river to Rayalaseema and Andhra. They claim that it rightfully belonged to Telangana.
The Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme contemplated by the Andhra Pradesh government is in progress, with major portions having been completed. The project envisages lifting 3 tmcft of water daily at Sangameswaram when the river is in spate.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
