Hyderabad: The AP government on Thursday set off anot-her controversy by lodging a complaint with the Central Water Commission, the Union water resouces ministry and the Krishna River Man-agement Board, alleging that the TS government had violated the AP Reorganisation Act by beginning construction of the Palamuru-Ranga Reddy and Nakkalagandi lift irrigation schemes to use more than 100 TMC ft of Krishna waters from the inter-state Srisailam Dam.
After Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao laid the stone for the Palamuru scheme on Thursday morning, the AP irrigation ministry had sent the complaint by evening. Quoting Sections 84 (3), 85 (8) (d) and Para 7 of the 11th Schedule of the bifurcation Act, AP stated that Telangana cannot go ahead with the projects until the detailed project reports are approved by Central authorities.
AP irrigation principal secretary B. Adityanath Das in a letter to the CWC chairman said: The TS government did not follow any of the provisions laid down in the Act and (is) going ahead with it (the projects) unilaterally.”
This was countered by Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, who stated that the state can take up new projects. He pointed out that AP had not followed the Act with regard to the Pattiseema lift scheme. “There has been an increase in the allocation of Krishna river waters from 811 TMC ft in the Bachawat tribunal to 1,004 TMC ft in the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal. The additional water should be shared equally. There is every justification for TS taking up new projects,” he said.
There was controversy over the erstwhile Bachawat Commission allocations, which gave Krishna waters to united AP on a project-wise basis, while alloting it en bloc to Karnataka and Maharashtra. TS had been demanding more allocations to projects in the region even before bifurcation. After the expiry of the Bachawat Commission recommendations in May 31, 2000, the Justice Brijesh Kumar Commission was constituted and it gave its final recommendations in 2013.
The then Kiran Kumar Reddy government secured a stay from the SC against the Centre from notifying the Brijesh Kumar award. The SLP is pending in court. After bifurcation, TS, rushed to the SC stating that it should be heard in allocation of Krishna waters. A similar complaint was filed before the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal.
