The State government is again mulling over the proposal to bring Krishna water from Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu via a dedicated pipeline.
The authorities are getting inputs from various stakeholders in this regard despite concerns raised over the the huge amount that may be needed for the project, at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has hit finances of the State government.
A fresh look is being taken at the proposal, given the fact that Tamil Nadu has never realised its share of 12 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) of Krishna water even once since the commissioning of the Krishna Water Supply Scheme/Telugu Ganga Project. The highest quantum received in the last 25 years was 8.237 tmcft in 2020-21. Illegal drawal of water by farmers along the 152-km-long Kandaleru-Poondi canal is being cited as one of the reasons for the State not being able to get its due fully.
There is one more reason why the proposal is getting the attention of the authorities. Tamil Nadu is no longer facing opposition from Andhra Pradesh to the idea of laying pipelines. In fact, even in 1983, when the water sharing deal was struck, it was for conveying water through pipelines. However, opposition from various quarters became a stumbling block.
But the situation changed in recent years. The Krishna River Management Board’s committee on Chennai’s water supply, in all its four meetings over the past two years, had discussed the subject. In its inaugural meeting in January 2019, the panel, comprising of representatives of all the basin States apart from Tamil Nadu, itself made the suggestion of laying pipelines from Kandaleru or Srisailam, and indicated that it was for Tamil Nadu to pursue the matter.
Concept paper
Subsequently, the then Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami made an announcement and a concept paper was prepared, outlining different options.
The cost of the proposed project is expected to be over ₹15,000 crore, if the drawal point is Srisailam, which is the farthest and about 410 km away from the inter-State border. The cost will be around ₹7,300 crore if the drawal point is Somasila and ₹5,400 crore for Kandaleru, which is about 152 km from the border. All these figures have been worked out, without taking into account the cost of land acquisition.
One important feature of the project is that the water will flow by gravity. In the light of recent advancements in the production of pipes, an expert says it is possible to design a pipeline that can carry 500 cubic feet per second (cusecs). Subject to factors, including feasibility, there can be two pipelines, which will carry fully what the existing Kandaleru-Poondi canal can carry.
To make the proposal a reality, Tamil Nadu may have to build on its original agreement of 1983 with Andhra Pradesh, and sign a supplemental agreement with the latter.
Lower requirement
There is one view among water experts in Tamil Nadu that given the ongoing controversy between the two States of the Krishna river basin, the point of water drawal at Srisailam for Chennai’s water supply should be lowered from the present height of 854 ft.
If the two basin States keep on resorting to water drawal through pumping for their own reasons, it may take longer than the normal for the water level of Srisailam to reach the present prescribed height for supplying to Chennai. As Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are keen on pumping water from the dam for meeting their requirements, they can be persuaded to draw some more water that can be set apart for Chennai.
