Uttam Kumar Reddy, Opposition spar over water issues

The Opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and the Congress legislators engaged in a war of words in the Telangana Assembly over the issue of water sharing with Andhra Pradesh. While the Opposition party legislators alleged that the new government was not doing enough to protect the interests of the State, Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy blamed the erstwhile government for the State’s losses. I

“It was the Congress government during 2004-14 that allowed the regions in Andhra Pradesh to get more water. We should demand our share in proportion to the catchment area that we have,” senior BRS leader Kadiyam Srihari said.

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Uttam later introduced a resolution declaring that the State would not hand over the projects on the Krishna to the Centre.

White paper on irrigation sector

The Minister submitted a white paper on the irrigation sector in the State. In view of the historical injustice and the current situation the house hereby resolves that the Government of “Telangana will not handover control of common projects to KRMB (Krishna River Management Board) unless the conditions put forth by the State have been fulfilled,” the Government said.

The Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) is an autonomous body that manages and regulates the waters in the Krishna Basin in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The KRMB is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

“Water sharing between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana shall be on the basis of catchment area, drought prone area, basin population and cultivable area,” it said.

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The Government said that unauthorised construction of projects, expansions or new components diverting Krishna water to outside basin should not be permitted strictly unless approved by Central Water Commission or the Union Ministry of Water Resources.

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