HYDERABAD: Even as the Centre proposed linking of the rivers in the Union budget, Telangana said no move should be initiated until availability of water in Godavari river was determined.
Raising apprehensions, it said any proposal to link rivers should be taken up only after holding consultations with both states. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana share Krishna and Godavari river basins and sharing of irrigation water has always been the bone of contention.
In the past, the TRS government had asked the Centre to take up a detailed project report after determining that the state has water in excess of its needs before interlinking the rivers. Though Telangana has agreed to link the rivers in principle, it, however, told the Centre that a water balance study was required before taking any action. The reason for this, Telangana argued, is that the Centre was relying on two-decades-old water availability report.
Several new projects based on Godavari water are also being planned, particularly after the bufurcation of AP, it contended and said the river becomes surplus only after the tributaries, Pranahita and Indravati, join it.
The feasibility report on interlinking southern rivers is also outdated, Telangana said and added it needed to be updated as new projects such as Sriramsagar stage 2, Sriramsagar flood flow canal, Devadula, Indirasagar, Rajivsagar, Pranahita-Chevella and Kanathapalli are being implemented.
Meanwhile, during a press conference on Tuesday, chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao slammed the Centre’s announcement on interlinking of rivers, claiming that a tribunal had allocated water to Telugu states. “The tribunal award is on a par with the Supreme Court decision and we are contesting the decision,” he said.
