Telangana to intensify legal fight for rightful share of Krishna waters
Hyderabad, Nov 10 (TNT): Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday directed officials to strengthen the State’s legal arguments in the Supreme Court to secure its rightful share of Krishna river waters in the ongoing dispute with Andhra Pradesh.
At a review meeting of the Irrigation Department at the Bodhi Pavilion in MCR HRD Institute here, the Chief Minister instructed officials to compile all relevant data and evidence to effectively present the State’s case before the Supreme Court. The directions assume significance as the next hearing in the Krishna water-sharing dispute is scheduled after November 18.
Revanth Reddy also directed officials to expedite the Dindi and Achampet lift irrigation projects and ensure water supply to both schemes from the Yedula reservoir, as decided earlier.
The required 0.6 TMC of water would be lifted from Narlapur to Yedula, he said.
He asked officials to identify suitable locations for tunnels and canals and prepare detailed project reports (DPRs) to facilitate the commencement of works.
The Chief Minister, however, cautioned officials against taking hasty decisions on the proposed additional one TMC capacity for the Kaleshwaram project, stressing that the mistakes committed by the previous government should not be repeated.
Officials briefed him on the challenges involved in lifting the available two TMC of water.
The Chief Minister called for a cautious and responsible approach before undertaking additional works.
He also directed officials to examine the status of pending cases in the Supreme Court before proceeding with land acquisition, obtain all necessary clearances from the Central Water Commission (CWC) and prepare a comprehensive DPR.
Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Irrigation Advisor Adityanath Das, CMO Secretary Manik Raj, Irrigation Secretary E. Sridhar, Joint Secretary K. Srinivas, Advocate General Sudarshan Reddy, senior Supreme Court advocate C.S. Vaidyanathan and other senior officials attended the meeting.
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