KCR opposed the illegal and unauthorised diversions to the outside basin and requested the Minster for Jal Shakti to take immediate action.
Srisailam dam and Krishna river. (Wikimedia Commons)
The Telangana government has requested the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to restrain Andhra Pradesh from executing what it calls the unauthorised Veligonda project, which is intended to divert water outside the basin.
In a letter to the KRMB chairman, Telangana Irrigation and Command Area Development Engineer-in-Chief (General), C Muralidhar, said that it was learnt through a news article dated 21 April in Sakshi Telugu — a daily newspaper — that the Veligonda project tunnel works are progressing at a brisk pace.
According to him, the head regulator to release water from the Srisailam reservoir to Nallamala Sagar through the first tunnel has been completed. The second tunnel of 5.52 km length is being excavated.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has opposed the diversions from the basin and requested the Union Minster for Jal Shakti to take immediate and effective action to stop diversion of Krishna waters through the Pothireddypadu regulator.
Further, during the second apex council meeting, the Union minister had stated that the inter-basin transfer of water can be done only after fulfilling the in-basin needs.
The Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-I (KWDT-I) has not considered any diversion of water from the Srisailam reservoir and stipulated that, in future allocations, in-basin projects be given priority over outside-basin diversions, the letter reminded.
After protecting the existing and contemplated uses till September 1960, all the remaining waters of 366.6 TMC was allocated to the in-basin projects only , it said.
But in 1994, disregarding the provisions of the KWDT-I award, the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh government proposed the Veligonda project to divert 3,000 cusecs of flood waters during the monsoon to outside basins like Gundlakamma from Srisailam reservoir through a tunnel.
In 2005, an additional tunnel was proposed to carry further 8,600 cusecs of flood waters. Hence, the diversion capacity was increased from 3,000 cusecs to 11,600 cusecs, that is one TMC/day.
As per a detailed project report (DPR) submitted before KWDT-II by the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, the diversion of flood waters was proposed when the level above 875 ft of Srisailam reservoir and construction work commenced in 2005.
Telangana has been pleading before the KWDT-II, under Section 89 proceedings, to stop outside-basin diversions while in-basin drought prone areas are suffering from a want of water.
The KWDT-I is seriously considering this issue by framing several issues.
However, the Government of Andhra Pradesh, with a view to make fait accompli the decision of the tribunal, is continuing its efforts to further divert Krishna waters to the outside basin.
Muralidhar, in his letter, said that the Andhra Pradesh government is not pleading for dependable waters for this project before the KWDT-II.
As such, construction of the project and further enhancing the scope of the Veligonda project is in gross violation of the provisions of Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act 2014, and without appraisal of the DPR and also without obtaining the required statutory clearances for this project.
Further, on the issue of diversion of Krishna waters outside the river basin, the KWDT-I decided that, in future uses, more weightage should be given to inside basin use.
In view of the above, taking up of surplus-based projects, including Veligonda, would be detrimental to the interests of projects of Telangana serving acute drought prone and fluoride-affected in-basin areas, apart from the settled ayacuts of the Nagarjuna Sagar project command downstream of the Srisailam project and drinking water needs of Hyderabad, Muralidhar said.
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