Krishna Board to release water to AP and T

HYDERABAD: The first meeting of the Krishna River Management Board has decided to release 26 tmc water to both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states. As per the decision, 10 tmc each will be released through right and left canals of Nagarjuna Sagar Project (NSP).

Besides, 3 tmc will be released to Nalgonda from AMRP. Another 3 tmc will be released to Krishna delta from NSP. As there was no water in Nagarjuna Sagar, the Board decided to release water from Srisailam project.

The present level at Srisailam is 832 feet and water could be drawn till 800 feet. The 10 tmc water to be released through the right canal of NSP will be used entirely by AP. The entire right canal jurisdiction is in AP.

The 10 tmc to be released from left canal of NSP will be shared by AP and Telagana on 13:10 ratio. The left canal caters to the needs of both AP and Telangana. AP will get around 2.9 tmc from the left canal.

In all, Telangana will get 10 tmc and AP 16 tmc. At the board meeting, when officials raised the issue of release of water for irrigation, chairman Pandya rejected it stating that there was no sufficient rain.

Key Decisions

The meeting decided that a working group comprising member engineers-in-chief of the Board from AP and T and member-secretary of the Board will work out the modalities of the functioning of the Board.

The issues include staff requirement, budget, infrastructure, technical aspects and CISF personnel for security. Inflows for the remaining part of the monsoon will be assessed and water requirements over and above the drinking water needs will be examined considering the inflows at Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar systems.

Release of water will be decided subsequently in a consultative manner. All release patterns as of now for drinking water will be mutually decided upon by the member engineers-inchief of both the States.

The Board has decided to meet frequently depending upon the situation and take necessary measures. The budget of the Board will be shared by both the States.

The staff for the Board will be taken on deputation from both the States. The Secretary, who will be available at the Board office will take decisions pertaining to release of water

Office in Vijayawada?

The AP government did not yet specify where it intends to locate the Board office. Whether the AP will set up office in Vijayawada or continue to have the office in Hyderabad for the time being is not known immediately.

As per the AP Reorganisation Act, the Krishna Board has to be located in AP. The Godavari Water Management Board will be located in Telangana. The Godavari Board meeting will also be held soon, sources said.