Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who sees himself as an expert in irrigation affairs, surprised the experts panel with irrigation and power engineers on board and headed by A.K. Bajaj by giving a powerful oral presentation on the need to improve irrigation sectors in both TS and AP using the available waters from the Godavari and Krishna rivers.
The experts committee met Mr Rao at his camp office on Wednesday, where the CM said that it would be prudent for both states to sit and resolve all disputes instead of approaching courts and tribunals. He told the panel that he had given the same suggestion to his AP counterpart N. Chandrababu Naidu many a time.
Mr Rao said that as much as 4,000 tmc ft of water can be utilised by both the state from the two rivers to irrigate each and every acre of cultivable land in both the states. He said it would be better for AP to divert more Godavari waters for usage in its coastal and Rayalaseema districts and TS too needed more irrigation under Godavari River.
“AP is wasting over 3,000 tmc ft of Godavari water by letting it flow into the sea. It could be diverted to coastal and Rayalaseema districts, but they are very particular in raising objections over usage of 20 to 30 tmc ft in Krishna basin which is wrong,” Mr Rao explained.
The CM suggested to the experts panel to consider evolving two ways in distribution of waters, by making specific allocations to projects in all the riparian states whenever there is more water availability and also deficit sharing by upper riparian states whenever water availability is below normal.
He told the panel that presently, there is no mechanism to evolve a strategy in distribution of waters as upper riparian states are adopting a policy of storing water despite downstream states facing a crisis.
Listing out injustices done to Telangana region over the years in undivided AP, Mr Rao told the experts that even while taking up construction of Nagarjunasagar project, immediately after formation of AP State in 1956, designs for the dam were changed to suit the needs of Andhra more than Telangana region.
He also told them that the people of Andhra unanimously elected the late eminent engineer and Union minister K.L. Rao for his contribution to the injustice done to Telangana region by changing the NS Dam designs.
Mr Rao said that a few projects were taken up in Telangana by previous government but without water allocations. Stating that the TS government’s policy is to “live and let live”, he said that at the same time, AP should better realise it.
