Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has written a letter to Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Monday requesting him to prevail upon Telangana to stop the indiscriminate drawal of water from the Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar (NSP) and Pulichintala projects for power generation and to direct the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to visit the unauthorised projects under execution in Telangana before inspecting the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (RLIS).
The Chief Minister also appealed to Mr. Shekhawat to immediately notify the jurisdiction of the KRMB and to keep all the offtakes of water (for power generation, irrigation and drinking) in the common reservoirs under the control of the KRMB with the CISF protection for effective operation and maintenance in the interest of both States.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said it was disheartening to bring to the Union Minister’s notice the blatant violation of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 and of the operational protocols and directions of the KRMB by Telangana, and that it was depriving Andhra Pradesh (A.P.) of its rightful share of the river water and causing a huge wastage of water.
Power generation
He complained that Telangana was drawing water for power generation though power was incidental to irrigation needs. Telangana started using water in the Srisailam reservoir right from day one (June 1) of the 2021-22 water year well below the Minimum Draw Down Level (MDDL) of 834 feet without raising any indent before the KRMB though there was no irrigation requirement under NSP and the Krishna delta system.
A.P., Chennai hit
Telangana was obstructing the build-up of water levels in the Srisailam reservoir and had utilised 19 tmcft for power generation out of 26 tmcft of inflows since June 1. As a consequence, reaching a level of 854 feet proved to be a herculean task and A.P. was unable to draw water through gravity for the schemes dependent on the Pothireddypadu head regulator. This was causing distress to Rayalaseema, Nellore and Prakasam districts and also Chennai city due to their dependence on Srisailam reservoir for their irrigation and drinking water needs.
Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy further said Telangana was doing hydel power generation from the NSP without the KRMB’s clearance and in violation of established protocols. Also, Telangana continued to draw water from the Pulichintala project without taking any release orders from the KRMB.
The intention of Telangana had been to deprive A.P. of its due share of allocated water, as the drawals were delayed and water was being wasted into the sea. As such, it was already requested that the KRMB be directed to account for all these unauthorised drawals by Telangana against the agreed allocation of 299 tmcft to it.
The KRMB is proposing RLIS site visit under the guise of the National Green Tribunal order ignoring the prior request of A.P. to visit the unauthorised project sites in Telangana which were in advanced stages of execution devoid of approvals and allocation of waters, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said.
