The Government of Telangana has been enjoying unlawful authority over the Nagarjunasagar Project (NSP), which is located downstream of the Srisailam project on the Krishna river, alleges Shashibhushan Kumar, Principal Secretary, Water Resources Department.
The Telangana government has also been creating trouble when the Government of Andhra Pradesh tries to draw water from the NSP in accordance with the allocations made by the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB), which cannot be accepted, he asserts.
The inter-State water dispute came to the fore again with the Government of Andhra Pradesh taking control of its properties on the NSP during the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday.
“The Government of Andhra Pradesh has been fighting against the neighbouring State over its rightful share of the Krishna water. The Writ Petition (No. 772 of 2021) filed in the Supreme Court by the Government of Andhra Pradesh against Telangana is listed for hearing on December 12,” Mr. Shashibhushan Kumar told The Hindu on Thursday.
“The main grievance is that the Telangana government has been drawing excess water in the name of hydel power generation,” Mr. Kumar said.
We had approached the Supreme Court against the “illegal drawal of water” by Telangana from Srisailam, Nagarjunasagar and Pulichintala for power generation during the water year 2021-22, he said. The Government of Andhra Pradesh also urged the court to issue an order to the Government of India to notify the jurisdiction of the KRMB, he added.
The Supreme Court was also urged to issue an order to the Centre to take control of the reservoirs of Srisailam, Nagarjunasagar and Pulichintala, and operate the same as per norms of the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT).
