The Hindu : BJP wants tribunal on sharing Krishna waters

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 23, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad

BJP wants tribunal on sharing Krishna waters

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD Sept. 22. The BJP has suggested that the vexatious problem of release of Krishna waters to Andhra Pradesh from the upper riparian state of Karnataka be handled by a new tribunal.

Addressing a press conference on Sunday, the Union Minister for Railways, Bandaru Dattatreya, and the BJP State vice-president, S.V.Seshagiri Rao, urged the State Government to formally approach the Centre with the request for a special tribunal to decide release of Krishna waters to the State.

They said that Andhra Pradesh was not getting its due annual share of 800 tmcft of water allocated by the Bachawat Tribunal as Karnataka impounded excess water by building projects unauthorisedly. Also Karnataka was advancing the argument that the inflows into its reservoirs were not adequate to facilitate release of water down stream to Andhra Pradesh.

The Union Minister said the water release from Krishna should be on pro-rata basis, based on the inflows into the river and the rainfall amounts in a particular season. Then alone the lower raparian State like Andhra Pradesh would get its due share. Since the Bachawat tribunal could not go into this problem, a special trbunal was warranted, he argued.

Mr. Dattatreya disclosed that in response to his initiative, the Union Minister for Water Resources, Arjun Charan Sethi, convened a meeting on Monday to discuss the problems in the clearance of Devadula lift irrigation project on the Godavari.

He said the officials raised queries about the technical and financial viability of the project which could be sorted out at the meeting. The officials pointed out that while the capital expenditure on the project (at Rs 1800 crores) was reasonable, the recurring expenditure in lifting the waters to the fields would be heavy. It was suggested that the State Government come forward with substantial subsidy to meet the recurring cost. Devadaula project was the achievement of the BJP which carried out a campaign for utilisation of Godavari waters five years ago, he said.

The two BJP leaders explained that the "Sasyasamala Yatra'' of the party from October to October 5 to 13, covering 4400 km, was aimed at highlighting the need to execute all the pending pojects on Godavari including one to divert 100 tmc ft of Godavari waters to Krishna. [ Consortium for II phase of MMTC ]

The Union Minister of State for Railways announced that a Spanish consortium, L & T Ramboll, has been entrusted with the task of preparing the project report of the second phase of the urban transport system for Hyderabad, which could be taken up after completion of on-going Multi-Mode Transport System (MMTC) in three phases.

Train services will be operated from Khairatabad to Lingampally under the first phase of MMTS from November 1, notwistanding the delay in completion of the new railway stations at Lakdikapool, Balkampet.

The Railways required 18 rakes for the MMTC, which would be acquired at a cost of Rs 92 crores, of which the State's share was Rs 46 crores. The State Government agreed to bear the cost. To begin with five rakes are being acquired to run the services from November 1.

In the second phase, train services would be operated from Secunderabad to Lingampally from January 2002 and in the third phase from Falaknuma to Lingamaplly and Falaknuma to Hyderabad from April 2003.

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BJP wants tribunal on sharing Krishna waters