Telangana government has requested the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to keep the Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS) anicut portion falling in Andhra Pradesh territory in the board purview and complete the modernisation of the anicut at the earliest.
In a letter addressed to Chairman of the river board M.P. Singh, Engineer-in-Chief of Telangana C. Muralidhar pointed out that the RDS h ead works and related components were not proposed to be brought under the board purview, as per an interim report of a sub-committee of the board on the operationalisation of the gazette notification on the grounds that their location was outside AP and Telangana.
Mr. Muralidhar brought to the KRMB Chairman’s notice that RDS project was taken up jointly by the erstwhile Hyderabad and Madras States in June 1944 to utilise Tungabhadra water on par with supplementation to K.C. Canal. Half of the 819 metre long anicut falls geographically in AP territory (Kurnool district) and the other half in Karnataka (Raichur district).
Explaining that the project has 5,879 acres ayacut in Karnataka with 1.2 tmc ft water allocation and 87,500 acres in Telangana (after bifurcation of combined AP) with an allocation of 15.9 tmc ft as per KWDT-I award. Of the 143 km long main canal, 42.6 km was in Karnataka with full supply discharge at RDS at 850 cusecs with 770 cusecs to be available at Karnataka-Telangana border. However, only around 400 cusecs was being realised at the State border.
The ENC pointed out that the required discharge was not being realised on account non-maintaining of the required driving head at the anicut due to lower anicut height, allowing uncontrolled flow through 10 construction sluices with 3 ft diameter each, un-gated vents of the river sluices, which were helping free flow of water without allowing build-up of water level at the anicut and lack of sufficient pondage (water storage space).
As a result, Telangana area was hardly realising 5 tmc ft water against the allocation of 15.9 tmc ft for the last 25 years. Mr. Muralidhar also brought to the board’s notice that modernisation of the anicut was being obstructed by AP government in the name of law and order problem. He termed the AP’s communication to Karnataka not to proceed with the work as unwarranted.
Meanwhile, Superintending Engineer Sridhar Rao Deshpande, who is the Officer on Special Duty to Chief Minister on irrigation, has been included in a sub-committee on the operationalisation of gazette notification by the river board in place of Chief Engineer (inter-State water resources) V. Mohan Kumar.
