The Hindu : Karnataka blamed for A.P. farmers' woes

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 17, 2002

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Karnataka blamed for A.P. farmers' woes
By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, MARCH 16. Reference was made to Karnataka repeatedly in the Andhra Pradesh Assembly on Saturday in connection with the ``hardships and injustices'' faced by the Andhra farmers.

Three legislators, of them two from the Congress party,-P. Venkateswara Rao and Y. Sivarama Reddy-and one from the BJP-R. Ravindranath Reddy-raised an accusing finger against Karnataka, blaming it for rendering the Krishna-based projects in Andhra Pradesh ineffective. However, Sivarama Reddy directed his ire against the Andhra Pradesh Government also for the reason that it did not take any initiative for realising the Thungabhadra Parallel Canal for which, he said, Karnataka had already ``given its approval''.

Participating in a debate on the budgetary demands relating irrigation and power, Venkateswara Rao, who represents Mudinepalli in Krishna district, alleged that water in the Krishna river had become scarce, affecting 13.9 lakh acres of Krishna Delta ayacut (which was allocated 180 tmc ft. by the Bachawat Tribunal), after increase in the height of Alamatti dam. A direct consequence was that the khariff season crops suffered delay by three to four months and per acre yield came down to 15 bags.

Ravindranath Reddy, highlighting the plight of farmers in Mahabubnagar district in which the Krishna flows for a length of 248 km out of its 592-km total length in Andhra Pradesh, said his district was entitled to 180 tmc ft. but it was hardly getting 31 tmc ft. The basic reason cited by him for this was that the Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme, which was constructed in 1958 as an inter-state project, had ``become advantageous to Karnataka''. Andhra Pradesh was today receiving only 8 tmc ft. against an allotment of 50.9 tmc ft., resulting in the ayacut coverage not going beyond 39,000 acres as against 87,500 acres as originally planned. Mr. Reddy said the quantum received by Karnataka, on the other hand, was 3 tmc ft., though its allocation was mere 1.1 tmc ft. As a result, the ayacut covered in that State had gone up to 11,000 acres from 5,000 acres.

As a way out, the BJP member, who represents Alampur area where a cluster of temples were submerged under the Srisailam Project which came up later, suggested a link channel connecting RDS with the Jurala project lying downstream as planned by the State Government. He asked the State Government to collect Rs. 13 crores due from Karnataka for the past few years towards maintenance of the RDS common canal and spend the same for digging the new link canal. He lamented that the construction of Jurala project was stopped at a height of 315 metres (at mean sea level) while the design provided for going up to 318.6 metres. He urged immediate payment of compensation, amounting to Rs. 30 crores, for the land submerged at the increased height, part of which would go to Karnataka. This would facilitate construction at the remaining height, he said.

Sivarama Reddy, who comes from Uravakonda in Anantapur district, spoke of how the Andhra Pradesh Government was turning a Nelson's eye on the Thungabhadra Parallel Canal which would benefit this drought-prone district, even as Karnataka gave its consent for its execution. ``It is shameful'', he said, referring to the attitude of the Andhra Pradesh Government.

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