Govt. failed to resolve Krishna water issue properly: TDP

The TDP on Friday rejected the gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, transferring the right to regulate water and control over the ongoing projects on the Krishna to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB).

The TDP also proposed to convene an internal meeting in Nellore soon to make arrangements for a dharna-cum-public meeting in Tirupati on the issue.

At a meeting of the party district presidents from the Rayalaseema districts and Prakasam and Nellore on the management of Krishna waters, the TDP leaders lashed out at the YSRCP government for failing to resolve the crisis amicably with Telangana.

Former Minister Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy said the meeting resolved to demand allocation of 45 tmcft of Krishna water permanently to the Rayalaseema region and Nellore, in lieu of the Godavari water the Krishna Delta would receive from Polavaram.

‘Unapproved’ status

It was unfortunate that the control over 16 ongoing projects, including Handri-Neeva, Galeru-Nagari and Veligonda, was given to the KRMB, and their fate hanged in the balance as they were bracketed as “Unapproved” in the gazette.

“This is the fallout of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s dictatorial attitude and his aversion to consult parties in A.P., or hold talks with his Telangana counterpart K. Chandrashekhar Rao,” the TDP leader alleged.

Taking objection to the State not allowing the KRMB members to visit the proposed Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (RILS) site for inspection, Mr. Chandramohan Reddy said the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had to intervene and direct the State to allow them.

The Chief Minister should have allowed the team to inspect the site and fought for our rights by placing facts before it, he said.

“Power generation can be done at Srisailam only in the Right Bank Canal above 834 feet with reverse pumping and not on the Left Bank Canal below that level,” Mr. Chandramohan Reddy said.

Dig at KCR

Mr. Chandrashekhar Rao had served as Anantapur in-charge Minister and knew about the drought conditions in the Rayalaseema region, but he did not consider it before going ahead with power generation, the leaders at the meeting observed.

How can YSRCP leaders such as Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy and the Chief Engineers welcome the gazette notification without regard to the sentiments of the farmers of the Rayalaseema region, the TDP leaders questioned.

Addressing the media later, former Minister Kalava Srinivasulu said that the government must spend ₹10,000 crore annually to bring water to Rayalaseema. The TDP, during its term, had spent ₹65,000 crore by installing six pumps at Muchumarri, he added.

The HNSS capacity should be increased to 10,000 cusecs and the concrete lining of the Galeru-Nagari project canal should be stopped as it would not allow replenishment of the groundwater table, he said.

“The lower riparian rights of the State must be protected by utilising the 512 tmcft allocated from the Krishna. About 320 tmcft can be realised by taking up the Godavari-Krishna-Penna link project in the next two years,” he said.

‘Illegal projects’

“Karnataka and Maharashtra are constructing several illegal projects on the Krishna, and they must be stopped by taking up the issue along with Mr. Chandrashekhar Rao,” he added.

Those who attended the meeting included G. Narasimha Yadav (Tirupati), R. Sreenivasa Reddy (Rajampet), Pulivarthi Nani (Chittoor), and M. Linga Reddy (Kadapa).