HYDERABAD: The Telangana state government complained to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) against the Andhra Pradesh government, accusing it of obstructing the Karnataka government from undertaking modernisation works of Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS).
The Telangana government requested the KRBM to take the portion of RDS anicut which is falling in the territory of Andhra Pradesh under its control as per schedule-2 of Centre's gazette notification and complete modernisation of anicut at the earliest.
In a letter addressed to the KRMB chairman on Monday, Telangana irrigation engineer-in-chief C. Muralidhar said, "RDS project was taken up by erstwhile Hyderabad state in terms of June 1944 agreement between Hyderabad and Madras to use Tungabhadra waters on par with KC Canal. The length of the anicut is 819 metres and geographically half of the anicut is in AP (in Kurnool district) and the other half (left side) in Raichur district (Karnataka). This project irrigates 5,879 acres in Karnataka and 87,500 acres in Telangana with an allocation of 17.10 tmc ft by KWDT-1 (Karnataka 1.20 tmc ft and 15.90 tmc ft of erstwhile AP). Due to reorganisation of states in 1956, the anicut and main canal up to 42.60 km out of 143 km is under Karnataka and is being maintained by the Karnataka government."
He stated that the full supply discharge of the RDS canal at the head was 850 cusecs out of which 770 cusecs were to be available for Karnataka and Telangana. But the actual realisation of discharge is much less and is around 400 cusecs only.
Due to the ill-maintenance of the project by Karnataka, it is realising hardly 5 tmc ft instead of 15.90 tmc ft of allocated water for the past 25 years, he added.
"Therefore, the erstwhile AP government has proposed to take up modernisation of the anicut and the main canal to utilise the full quantity of 15.90 tmc. The requisite amount was deposited by the erstwhile AP and Telangana state to Karnataka to take up modernisation works. Major portion of canal modernisation is completed but modernisation of the anicut is being obstructed by the AP government citing law and order problem. The attitude of the AP government is only to divert additional waters to KC Canal lying downstream of RDS anicut unauthorised," Muralidhar stated.
