Andhra Pradesh opposes reallocation of Krishna water by tribunal | Vijayawada News
VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh govt has strongly opposed the proposal to reallocate the Krishna waters already allocated to different projects by previous tribunals. The govt stated that water allocations cannot be altered with an executive order from the Centre and that tribunal verdicts are irrevocable. The govt presented its arguments before the Brajesh Kumar tribunal, asserting that reallocation is a serious breach of tribunal verdicts and laws enacted by the parliament.Andhra Pradesh put up a strong defence before the tribunal, stating that some of the projects in Andhra Pradesh were in operation long before the constitution of water dispute tribunals and were already taking water. The govt questioned how anyone could deem the allocation of water to such historical and old projects illegal. Continuing the arguments as part of the final hearing before Justice Brajesh Kumar tribunal, Andhra Pradesh strongly rejected the Telangana govt’s claim to exclude all allocations made before 2014 (bifurcation).The Centre issued revised terms of reference to Justice Brajesh Kumar tribunal (Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-KWDT-II) after Telangana withdrew a case before the Supreme Court. However, Andhra Pradesh had already filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Centre’s decision to issue revised terms of reference to examine Telangana’s demand for reallocation of Krishna waters. In fact, the Brajesh Kumar tribunal completed its trial into the issue of allocation of Krishna waters between Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh shortly before the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. Subsequently, the Centre did not publish the verdict in the gazette, prompting Telangana to seek reallocation based on the creation of the new state. As per the Bachawath tribunal award (KWDT-I), combined Andhra Pradesh received 811 TMC of water in the Krishna River, from which Andhra Pradesh got 66 percent and Telangana got 34 percent.“It is ridiculous to seek reallocation from the already fixed quotas. In fact, Krishna delta projects, including Prakasam Barrage, were constructed during British rule (1850) when about 2 lakh people from Guntur and Prakasam district died due to severe drought. The barrage was brought into operation to save lives by providing irrigation water to the Krishna delta,” argued Andhra Pradesh. It further stated that the Nagarjuna Sagar project was also constructed with consensus between the then Andhra Pradesh and Hyderabad states. The Rayalaseema project received Krishna water during British rule through KC Canal with consensus between the Mysore and Madras presidencies. “How could Telangana object to releasing water to drought-hit regions of Ananthapuram, which is getting water through the Penna basin?” asked Andhra Pradesh.*GFX*Section 89 of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, safeguards the water allocations made through tribunals.*Water allocations made by the tribunals are irrevocable: Andhra Pradesh.*As per clause 17 of the Bachawath tribunal, any allocation can be changed only with the consensus between the states.*Water allocations made by tribunals cannot be altered as per section 14 of the Inter-State River Waters Disputes Act, 1956.
