Hyderabad: Unlike other issues, the irrigation sector will be creating some problems for the successor states of Telangana and Seemandhra given the magnitude of complexities involved in distribution of water resources, from the very first year of bifurcation.
There is an element of reconciliation and adjustment based on mutually agreed issues and safeguards with regard to any other sector, but not irrigation. An undivided Andhra Pradesh might portray a rosy picture on development of irrigation with the state known in the country as the Rivers’ State.
But the same may not be possible after bifurcation due to complexities involved with the management of water distribution for nearly 75 lakh acres which is the livewire for the development of agriculture.
The various provisions in the AP State Reorganisation Bill to deal with the management of water resources and distribution of waters among the existing irrigation projects may lead to legal and administrative tangles instead of ensuring smooth functioning.
The issue has been further complicated with the announcement of the final verdict on sharing of Krishna waters among the three riparian states by the Justice Brijesh Kumar Tribunal.
The Tribunal Award came at a wrong time, when the state is subjected to bifurcation. The construction of various multipurpose projects on the Krishna river, abutting both the states, will pose problems.
Instead of coming up with an amicable arrangement for distribution of water resources, the Reorganisation Bill provides constitution of management boards and supervising bodies giving ultimate powers to the Central government which has again become a subject of controversy.
Nowhere is such power, which is the exclusive domain of the state government, taken away by the Centre.
The Centre is going to permanently take away the powers of the state in respect of Godavari and Krishna waters, and will, with the help of the residuary states, monitor every aspect of irrigation.
Once the state is bifurcated, there has to be reallocation of waters to various projects as the present allotment is made for an undivided state.
This extraordinary step by the Centre will pose problems for not only all existing projects, but to the future projects too, including allocations to industrial and other sectors in a big way.
Under the new scheme, each state will have to seek permission to go ahead with new projects and the Central government body will scrutinise the reports, and take concurrence from the other state and ensure that they do not obstruct the various allocations already made by the Tribunals.
Telangana and Seemandhra governments can decide and act independently in respect of other sectors, but they cannot take up any new project as far as irrigation development is concerned.
It remains to be see how the Centre will ensure that the required water is released to various projects in the next Kharif season starting from June 2014.
Next: The Controversial projects
The Controversial projects
Polavaram Multi-purpose Project
Direct usage in Seemandhra region. The lands that will be submerged under the project are in Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
The Telangana government may join other states in filing cases against submergence of huge tribal tracks and displacement of population. Permission to acquire lands for submergence will have to be given by the Telangana government which seems improbable.
The Bachawat Tribunal on Godavari waters had earlier made allocations to Karnataka and Maharashtra for use of 35 TMC ft. of waters from the diversion of 80 TMC ft. of Godavari waters through Polavaram canal to Krishna Basin. Both the states were permitted to use these allocations for Krishna-based projects in their states.
l With the state’s bifurcation, Telangana will certainly demand its share also from the diversion of waters from Polavaram Dam.
Srisailam Dam, Pothireddypadu regulator
The Srisailam dam, which is situated between Rayalaseema and Telangana, may pose a problem for the Central government in ensuring water releases to projects as well as to the downstream Nagarjunasagar dam which is again going to be declared as an inter-state project.
Telugu Ganga, Madras Drinking Water Supply, Srisailam Right Branch Canal are the projects in Rayalaseema which need to get assured water supplies as their allocations were cleared by the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal.
The fate of Handri-Neeva, Galeru-Nagari and Veligonda, which envisages irrigation supplies to drought-prone areas of Prakasam, Kadapa, Kurnool, Anantapur and Chittoor districts, is not known if the state is divided, as the Tribunal did not make any commitments on allocations.
Also, water from Srisailam dam needs to be drawn only through the controversial Pothireddypadu Regulator at a level of 840-854 feet.
The All-Party meeting held by late Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy had cleared widening of Pothireddypadu Regulator to accommodate 44,000 cusecs of water per day from 11, 500 cusecs, solely with an aim of diverting flood waters from Srisailam dam.
However, the Regulator is still unable to accommodate 44,000 cusecs due to some bottlenecks in widening.
Since Srisailam dam is envisaged as a Balancing Reservoir and to generate hydel power through two power projects situated on either banks to supply waters to Nagarjunasagar dam, the Telangana government may force the Central government supervising joint committee to generate only power and not to release waters to unauthorised irrigation projects in Rayalaseema and even insist on delaying supplies to assured projects.
Pulichintala Dam and Prakasam Barrage
Though the Pulichintala dam is not an inter-state project, for every drop of its storage of 45 TMC ft., it is entirely dependent on releases from Nagarjunasagar dam which is an upstream project. Unless it gets water first, it cannot release to the Krishna Delta.
As far as Prakasam Barrage and Krishna Delta water requirement is concerned, for every Kharif season, the delta should get 80 TMC ft of water assistance from Nagarjunasagar as per the Bachawat Award, which was upheld by the Brijesh Tribunal.
The remaining requirement of 100 TMC ft. should be met from the catchment area between Nagarjunasagar dam and Prakasam Barrage.
Hitherto, unmindful of the 100 TMC ft. clause, waters were being released from Nagarjunasagar dam whenever the Krishna Delta faced trouble.
Unfortunately, even the Pulichintala dam, constructed to act as a balancing reservoir for the Delta, cannot prevent floodwaters going into the sea from Munnair and Palair because they join the Krishna River below Pulichintala.
The Krishna Delta is one of the oldest irrigation systems in the country and the structure was constructed way back in 1853. It has an assured allocation of 180 TMC ft. but has to fight for waters almost every year.
Nagarjunasagar Dam
The Nagarjunasagar dam will also be declared as an inter-state project by the Centre and all powers with regard to release of waters to various projects will be exercised by it alone. Thus both the Telangana and Seemandhra governments may have to quarrel for water releases to their projects.
There are two major canals, one for Seemandhra and another for Telangana. Unfortunately, the Nagarjunasagar dam does not have an independent, dependable catchment and has to depend entirely on Srisailam supplies. Both regions will insist early supplies to their canals which supply waters to almost 25 lakh acres.
The Srisailam Left Bank Lift Irrigation scheme, which supplies waters to 3 lakh acres in Nalgonda, however, does not have assured allocation in the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal and will remain contentious as long as allocation is made.
While the Telangana government may try to stall the release of water to Seemandhra projects under Srisailam dam and insist only power generation, as after power generation, the waters will reach Nagarjunasagar, it may take a U-turn in case of releases from the Nagarjunasagar dam.
The Seemandhra government will insist on water releases to Nagarjunasagar dam Right Canal as well as on power generation so that waters will reach Pulichintala and Prakasam projects for supplying to 13 lakh acre in the Krishna Delta. Naturally, it will be resisted by the Telangana government as they know power generation at Nagarjunasagar dam is not going to fetch anything to their region.
Telangana projects
As far as utilisation of Godavari River is concerned, Telangana will have to allocate huge amounts to complete on-going projects. Unfortunately, though Telangana can use as much Godavari waters it can, it involves huge lifting of waters as the river is situated much below the contour of the state.
Even for taking up the controversial Pranahita-Chevella multi-lift irrigation project, it needs to allocate almost Rs10,000 crore every year to make sure it is completed in five years.
The cost of the Rs 50,000 crore scheme will escalate by 10-15 per cent every year if no sufficient funds are allocated. While the Centre has promised to bear the entire expenditure of Rs 20,000 crore for the Polavaram Project in the Seemandhra region by declaring it a national Project, there is no such promise made for the Pranahita-Chevella “White Elephant” Project.
Besides bearing the construction cost of all lift irrigation schemes, Telangana needs to spend an equal amount of money for setting up power projects to generate power for lift irrigation schemes.
