SC adjourns hearing on review petition

Tribunal award on Krishna water

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned the hearing on the special leave petition (SLP) filed by the Andhra Pradesh government challenging the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal Award on sharing of Krishna waters to April 29, but asked the riparian states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana State, Karnataka and Maharashtra to complete the pleadings — replies and counter-replies — within three weeks .

Andhra Pradesh wanted the apex court to review the award of the Tribunal by citing that it would do injustice to the State in sharing of Krishna waters. It also maintains that the Tribunal should have taken 75 per cent dependability in allocating Krishna waters among the riparian states unlike 65 per cent taken by Brijesh Kumar Tribunal and allocated 1,005 tmcft water, which includes surplus waters, to the State.

The newly-formed Telangana State too demanded that the Award of the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal be reviewed. It should be noted that the two Telugu-states were already at loggerheads over sharing of the Krishna waters allocated to them when they were unified. Telangana State wanted reexamination of the allocation of the river water as its arguments were not heard before and it was less than a year-old State.

Andhra Pradesh legal counsel G Prabhakar said the State government was also challenging the Karnataka government’s decision to raise the height of the Alamatti Dam from 519 m to 524 m by maintaining that it was meant for raising the height for hydel power generation, but not for impounding the waters. Moreover, there was also resistance from certain sections of farmers in Karnataka not to raise the height of the dam as it would result in submergence of farmland.

The Maharashtra government appealed to the Union government to notify the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal Award given in 2013. Krishna river originates in Maharashtra but travels through the states of Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for 870 miles.