The Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) on Monday appointed new Chairpersons to Krishna and Godavari River Management Boards (KRMB and GRMB) constituted under the provisions of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act to oversee management of water resources, particularly under the two common reservoirs – Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar.
According to the orders issued by the ministry in New Delhi, A.S.P. Sinha has been appointed Chairperson of KRMB and R.K. Jain Chairperson of the GRMB. Mr. Jain will also hold the additional charge as the Chief Executive Officer of the Polavaram Project Authority. The two officials are expected to take charge in the river board offices having their headquarters here later this week.
Mr. Sinha is currently posted as the Chief Engineer in the Designs and Research Wing of the Central Water Commission at New Delhi, while Mr. Jain is posted at Bangalore as Chief Engineer in the River Management wing of the CWC. The two have been promoted and posted as the chairpersons of the two river boards in Hyderabad.
The two river boards have been functioning without chairpersons for the last few months, the crucial period in a water year, following the retirement of incumbents from the service and in the process hampering decision-making with regard to water management.
“Now that the two river boards have heads in place, the decision-making is expected to pick up momentum, particularly on the allotment of water for irrigation and drinking water needs of the member States – Andhra Pradesh and Telangana – and headway in the matter of keeping an account of water availed by the two States with the help of telemetry equipment”, a senior engineer in the know of developments said on Monday.
Sources in the Irrigation Department stated that immediate decisions being awaited from the KRMB include looking into AP’s indent for allotment of 156 tmc ft water for its irrigation and drinking needs and notifying the telemetry equipment installed at 18 locations, 14 in Telangana and 4 in AP, in the first phase after ensuring that velocity and gauge sensors are calibrated for proper accounting of water availed.
Since the two common reservoirs have ample water available for use by the member States this water year, the river board is also required to speed up work on the installation of telemetry equipment at 21 other locations in the two States by inviting bids for the purpose, the sources felt.