Telangana Tells KRMB to Stop AP From Preparing Polavaram DPR
The Polavaram project, Telangana said, was in complete disregard of the KWDT-I award which held that for any projects taken up after September 1960, in-basin projects should be given priority in water allocation.
Hyderabad:Telangana on Monday called on the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to stop Andhra Pradesh from taking any action or steps on the Polavaram-Banakacharla link project (PBLP) including proceeding with awarding a contract for preparing a detailed project report (DPR).
In a letter to KRMB, Telangana’s irrigation engineer-in-chief (general) Mohd. Amjad Hussain said that the Andhra Pradesh government is proceeding with the PBLP and recently called tenders for the preparation of DPR and obtaining clearances from Central Water Commission. Telangana told KRMB that even preparation of a DPR for a project that purportedly will use flood water in Godavari river violates CWC guidelines.
The Polavaram project, Telangana said, was in complete disregard of the KWDT-I award which held that for any projects taken up after September 1960, in-basin projects should be given priority in water allocation. “But, the PBLP has been proposed to divert Godavari water across the Krishna basin to Penna basin and other basins disregarding inside basin areas of Telangana which are craving for water to meet drinking, irrigation and industrial needs,” Telangana said.
The matter was sub-judice before the existing KWDT-Il and even Karnataka and Maharashtra have objected to Andhra Pradesh’s plans for the project. There are several unresolved issues and also objections from the Polavaram Project Authority, Godavari River Management Board, and Environmental Appraisal Committee to Andhra Pradesh’s plans to go ahead with the project.
Further, “the lack of statutory clearances and the ongoing violations of binding legal provisions and Tribunal awards,” the KRMB should stop Andhra Pradesh from taking any steps on the project, Telangana engineer-in-chief said.
