Hyderabad: The Tungabhadra Board said it was ready to take up modernisation work on the Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS), over which the Telangana state and Andhra Pradesh governments have a dispute.
The board meeting, presided over by chairman D. Ranga Reddy, was attended by TS and AP irrigation officials. Engineer in Chief (irrigation) C. Muralidhar and Priyadarshani Jurala Project (PJP) dam circle superintendent engineer V. Raghunadha Rao and others participated.
For long, TS officials have wanted to take up the work saying the structure would be in danger if it is not done. Their AP counterparts have opposed it saying any increase in the project height would cost them their share of water. AP says it gets water from the leakages and if these are plugged, the state won’t get water. TS officials have offered to release an equivalent amount of water and not increase the project height.
The Karnataka government says it will not be able to work on the project without the support of AP as farmers from Kurnool district obstruct it every time it starts off.
On Thursday, when TS officials asked the board to complete the RDS modernisation works, chairman Ranga Reddy said it was ready to take up the work if both Telugu states resolved their dispute. “When law and order problems are created, how can we work,” he asked.
TS officials have decided to start discussions first at the officers’ level and then at the ministerial level.
At the meeting, a brief presentation was made about a new project proposed by Karnataka on the Tungabhadra. Karnataka wants to built a 40-tmc foot dam in Haveri district to compensate for the loss of storage at the Hospet dam due to sedimentation. AP and TS officials said it should be discussed at the government level.
