Telangana presents 14-point Krishna water agenda

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has presented a 14-point agenda, which includes 522 TMC of water in the Krishna River, clearance for the Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Project, preventing Andhra Pradesh from diverting Krishna water to other basins from Srisailam, and the complete handover of the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam to Telangana.

During the first meeting of the high-level committee convened by the Union Jal Shakti Ministry in New Delhi, State Secretary to Irrigation Rahul Bojja presented Telangana’s agenda to the CWC Chairman.

The government is demanding the allocation of 188 TMC of water to all projects undertaken on the Krishna River before 2014. In temporary allocations, Krishna water should be shared equally--50 per cent each--between the two Telugu states. Decisions on utilizing water through carry-forward should be made in accordance with the Bachawat Tribunal.

The government has called for the modernisation of the Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS) and the resolution of pending issues related to the Srisailam project, the Tungabhadra Board, and hydel power generation at Srisailam.

It also demanded the construction of a reservoir at the Icchampally project to utilise 200 TMC of floodwaters for Telangana and address submergence concerns under the Polavaram project within the state.