Telangana urges KRMB to allow it to avail dependable water for SLBC
The Hindu
State says it can use 45 tmc ft in lieu of Godavari water diversion from Polavaram project by Andhra Pradesh
Telangana Government has requested the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to allow it to utilise 45 tmc ft of additional dependable water in tune with the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal award in lieu of Andhra Pradesh’s diversion of 80 tmc ft water from Godavari to Krishna Basin from Polavaram project.
In a letter addressed to Chairman of the river board M.P. Singh on Thursday, Engineer-in-Chief (General-Irrigation) of Telangana C. Muralidhar said that Telangana wants to utilise such water for Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project. He brought to Mr. Singh’s notice that Telangana has been requesting the Centre for the same for long and it has also written five times to the board.
As per the agreement of AP before GWDT in August 1978, the water in lieu of diversion of 80 tmc ft from Polavaram project to Krishna Delta system shall be utilised within the Krishna Basin and that too upstream of Nagarjunasagar or in Telangana. Further, in 2007 the then AP Government had enhanced the ayacut under SLBC from 3 lakh acres to 4 lakh acres without enhancing water utilisation correspondingly from 30 tmc ft to 40 tmc ft.