Hyderabad, Sep 23 (IANS) Telangana is fighting for an equitable share of Krishna River waters before the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II and placed a claim for nearly 70 per cent of the water earlier allocated to the united Andhra Pradesh, Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said on Tuesday.

He was addressing the media in New Delhi, where the hearing by KWDT-II resumed. The minister is personally attending the tribunal’s hearing.

Reddy said that the matter has reached the final stage with Telangana presenting its concluding arguments since February this year.

Telangana has been presenting its final arguments over the past several months through senior advocate S. Vaidyanathan, who has been allotted three days to argue the state’s case in detail.

Reddy said that it’s perhaps unprecedented in India for a sitting Irrigation Minister to personally attend tribunal hearings, and this reflects the seriousness with which the Congress government is pursuing the issue. He made it clear that Telangana was determined to secure its fair share and correct the historical injustice it had suffered in the past.

Outlining the allocations made earlier, he recalled that the KWDT-II had awarded 1,005 TMC of Krishna waters to the then united Andhra Pradesh, which included 811 TMC at 75 per cent dependability, 49 TMC at 65 per cent dependability, and 145 TMC from average flows. In addition, 45 TMC was allotted from Godavari diversions. The tribunal had also granted liberty to use waters over and above the average flows. Telangana, which was carved out of united Andhra Pradesh in 2014, is now seeking a fresh allocation based on basin parameters.

The minister said Telangana’s claim was built on rational and internationally accepted parameters such as catchment area, population within the basin, extent of drought-prone regions, and cultivable land. Based on these calculations, Telangana has demanded 555 TMC out of the 75 per cent dependable waters, 43 TMC from the 65 per cent dependable waters, 120 TMC from the average flows, and the full 45 TMC from Godavari diversions. Altogether, this amounts to 763 TMC of dependable water for Telangana, besides liberty to utilise the entire surplus over average flows.

Reddy stressed that these figures were not arbitrary but based on scientific and equitable sharing principles that are recognised globally in river water disputes.

He criticised Andhra Pradesh for earmarking a large portion of its en bloc allocation of 811 TMC for outside-basin diversions. Telangana, he said, had placed a strong plea before the tribunal to restrain Andhra Pradesh from such practices and direct it to utilise alternate water sources that are available. “The water thus saved must be diverted to Telangana to serve our drought-prone in-basin areas. Our state cannot be denied its fair entitlement while another state continues to divert water out of the Krishna basin,” he said.

Reddy also underlined that Telangana had a right to liberty in utilising the entire remaining waters of the Krishna above the average flows, and that the state would press this claim strongly before the tribunal. He described the demand as a legitimate corrective measure to decades of unfair treatment and said that the present hearings provided an opportunity to address the injustice suffered by Telangana since the days of united Andhra Pradesh.

He strongly opposed Karnataka’s move to increase the height of the Almatti Dam, warning that such a step would directly harm Telangana’s interests. He said the state government would strengthen its argument in the Supreme Court to challenge the proposal and prevent Karnataka from going ahead. “Our government’s stand is very clear -Telangana will not permit any action that reduces its share. We will approach the Supreme Court to ensure that Karnataka is not allowed to raise the Almatti height,” he said.

–IANS

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