TS withdraws petition in SC on Krishna water sharing as advised by Centre

Hyderabad: In a significant step to facilitate a central push for resolving the long-pending Krishna water sharing dispute between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the TS government has withdrawn its case from the Supreme Court in this respect.

Official sources said the government has filed a plea in the Supreme Court on Thursday, seeking withdrawal of the case.

TS had filed a petition in the Supreme Court in 2015 after the Centre did not respond to its demand for constituting a new tribunal for Krishna water sharing under the Interstate River Waters Disputes Act of 1956.

At the apex council meeting held by the Centre in December last with
the two states, the Centre agreed to look into the water reallocation plea on condition that the TS withdrew its case from the SC. In the meeting, chief minister Chandrashekar Rao had agreed to do this but did not issue the order so far.

This week, the CM directed the officials to withdraw the case immediately. He reportedly told officials that it's for the Centre now to fulfill its assurance to both the states.

The state government will write to the Centre informing it of the withdrawal of its case from the Supreme Court.

The sharing of Krishna waters between the Telugu states is to be done by the Krishna water disputes tribunal, which also is responsible for allotment of water to Maharashtra and Karnataka through which the river flows.

Soon after the formation of Telangana State in 2014, the CM sought the
formation of a new tribunal. TS later filed the petition in the SC in 2015 as the Centre did not take any steps.

Union water resources minister Gajendrasingh Shekhawat had stated that once Telangana withdrew its case, the Centre will seek legal opinion and decide whether or not to constitute a new tribunal; or give new terms of reference to the existing tribunal, the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II.