DC debate: Krishna water sharing

The final award on Krishna river water dispute has been announced by the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal, which is supposed to have considered the objections raised by the Andhra Pradesh government before the Supreme Court.

However, it does not seem to have given any consideration to the objections of AP in framing the final award.

Its decisions in the final award are same as those announced in its interim award of 2010 except that it has allotted an additional 4 TMC to the Rajoli Banda Diversion scheme. The final award will result in huge irreparable damage to irrigation and hydro power sectors in AP.

The biggest problem is the future of the surplus water-based projects of Galeru Nagari HandriNiva and Veligonda in Rayalaseema, Prakasam and Nellore districts as well as the surplus water based projects in Telangana, which are now nearing completion and on which around Rs 20,000 crore have been spent from 2004 to 2013 .

In fact, the Detailed Project Reports of the Galeru-Nagari, Handri-Niva and Veligonda projects benefitting about 14 lakh acres in the drought prone areas of Rayalaseema, Prakasam and Nellore districts were prepared as per the guidelines of Central Water Commission as early as December 1994 and were ready for implementation immediately, taking advantage of the right of AP for unrestricted use of surplus waters of the Krishna given under the Bachawat Tribunal. But this was not done.

If the government, which came into power in 1995, had implemented them during its nine year rule by 2004, the present calamity would not have risen because the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal for review of the earlier award was appointed only in April 2004.

The Tribunal should have considered allotting more water to Andhra Pradesh by taking into account key factors, including that how it is the lower riparian state in the Krishna Basin.

However, the AP government will seek justice regarding this.

We have already filed a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court and we will pursue the same after taking opinions of all party leaders on the subject. But, as major irrigation minister, I feel there is a need to regulate the present cropping pattern under all major irrigation projects in the Krishna Basin.

The government will encourage only Irrigated dry crops, henceforth, instead of allowing farmers to raise wet crops like paddy and sugarcane, which consume more water. Change of cropping patterns is also the need of the hour regardless of the outcome of the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal Award. Short duration, high yielding varieties alone should be encouraged so that early harvest can be ensured without being subjected to cyclones.

I also feel that there is a need to complete the Polavaram Dam as early as possible to divert the Godavari River waters to Krishna basin projects, particularly to the Krishna Delta System, which will help farmers raise paddy seed beds much earlier. We also need to divert more Godavari waters to the Krishna basin to ensure irrigation to all areas.

However, the Tribunal, in its final award made it clear to all the basin states that it was not going to alter the water allocations to various projects in three states made by the Bachawat Commission at 75 per cent dependability. This means AP will continue to get 811 TMC ft of water allotted to it by the Bachawat Commission at 75 per cent dependability. As such farmers under those projects need not worry about water availability in future.

The Tribunal also made it clear that the new allocations made by it, taking 65 per cent dependability criteria, would come into force only after the Bachawat Award allocations were fully met.

Unless the proposed Water Regulatory Authority, as decided by the Tribunal, is constituted and guidelines are framed, we will not know the full implications of the allocations.

Another aspect is that over and above the usage of 2,580 TMC ft of water, all the remaining water in the river can be harnessed by AP.

The delay has cost AP dearly. There are several other issues relating to the adoption of different dependabilities, choice of short hydrological cycle of 47 years; an impractical proposal of appointing a River Board for regulating and apportioning among the three basin states of the river flows which are not predictable before their occurrence; the raising of the Almatti Dam height to +524 metres etc. These need to be revisited and taken up before the Supreme Court forcibly.

The government of Andhra Pradesh, the experts and political parties need to consider all these and related problems and devise means of action to safeguard the interests of the people of AP, including the people of the drought-prone areas who have no other source of water other than the surplus water of Krishna.