AP Objects To Telangana's Claim In Godavari Waters

HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh government has rejected Telangana’s argument that the state has 967 TMC share in Godavari waters. The Andhra Pradesh Irrigation officials have strongly objected to the contention of the Telangana irrigation authorities to this effect. Taking a firm stand, the AP officials demanded their Telangana counterparts to show proof as to where Telangana was given any special allocation of Godavari waters as per the Bachawat Tribunal. The Godavari River Management Board convened a meeting of officials from both the riparian states at Jalasaudha in Hyderabad on Friday. The meeting was presided over by GRMB chairman Chandrashekhar Iyer. The GRMB held extensive deliberations with the teams of both the states on a range of issues including new projects proposed to be taken up by both the states, budgets and allocation of staff.

During the meeting, the Andhra Pradesh officials strongly condemned Telangana's contention that their state has a share of 967 TMCs in Godavari waters. Even as the Telangana delegation brought to the notice of the board that the 967 TMCs shares that their state is claiming in Godavari waters is based on the statement of former Chief Minister of undivided  Andhra Pradesh N  Kiran Kumar Reddy, it was summarily rejected by their AP counterparts. The Andhra Pradesh delegation made it clear that no specific allocations for Telangana were mentioned in the Bachawat Tribunal verdict. The Andhra Pradesh officials have requested the board to take Bachawat Tribunal’s ruling as a standard parameter for considering the current water availability.

After hearing the arguments of both the states, Board Chairman Chandrashekhar Iyer has decided to set up telemeters for the calculation of water usage and also directed the two states not to take up any new constructions on the river. He requested both the states to submit Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) to the board. Andhra Pradesh Water Resources Chief Secretary Adityanath Das and Telangana Irrigation Secretary Rajat Kumar have presented the contentions of their respective states in the meeting.