.jpg?w=480&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max)
In a major development on the water-sharing dispute between Telangana and Andhra, the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) alleged that the former drew water more than its quota, worth 8 tmcft.
The KRMB said that Telangana drew 40.5 tmcft from the Nagarjuna Sagar dam, even though it was only allotted 32.5 tmcft.
According to reports, KRMB member-secretary Sameer Chatterjee stated that the lesser quantity of water used by Andhra because of this, cannot be compensated next year, due to lack of a provision to 'carry forward' the compensation.
However, he assured that the issue would be taken up with the Ministry of Water Resources at the Centre, during a meeting in June.
Speaking to The Hindu, Water Resources Department’s State Apex Committee member Alla Gopalakrishnaiah, said, "It happened only because the Nagarjuna Sagar Project was in the control of Telangana. There were several occasions when AP released water from the Srisailam reservoir, under instructions of the KRMB, to Nagarjuna Sagar, but no water was released downstream from there."
The Andhra-Telangana border has two major dams on the Krishna River. While the Srisailam dam, is situated upstream, the Nagarjuna Sagar dam is situated downstream.
The Nagarjuna Sagar has two canals. The left canal, and the right canal, both of which are under Telangana’s control, after orders of the KRMB.
The two states have been warring over the water ever since their bifurcation in 2014.
After a meeting between Union Minister Uma Bharti, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his Telangana counterpart K Chandrasekhar Rao in 2016, it was decided that telemetry stations would be installed to monitor the water flow at various points, so that any violations could be found.
Stating that 12 out of 18 stations were completed, and five were under construction, the KRMB meeting also decided to release 0.86 tmcft of water from Nagarjuna Sagar to Hyderabad for drinking water needs.