The Hindu : A.P. to move S.C. on Upper Tunga issue

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 23, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

A.P. to move S.C. on Upper Tunga issue

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD JUNE 22. The Andhra Government will file a petition in the Supreme Court to stop Karnataka from constructing the Upper Tunga project on the ground that it is being undertaken in violation of existing awards and agreements.

The Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, said here today that Karnataka was planning to utilise more water than its share in the Tungabhadra, seriously affecting the ayacut under four projects in Andhra Pradesh — the high and low level canals (HLC and LLC), the Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS) and the KC Canal.

Briefing the media about Saturday's meeting of the all-party delegation with the Prime Minister, A. B. Vajpayee, in New Delhi, Mr. Naidu charged the Karnataka Government with playing `politics over water' by fudging figures relating to the Upper Tunga and Paragodu projects and misusing its position as an upper riparian State.

It was making baseless complaints about the Srisailam Left Bank Canal and Telugu Ganga projects to mislead the rest of the country. Against its entitlement of 500 tmcft, the Srisailam project received only 200 tmcft last year but Karnataka stubbornly refused to release a drop of water from the Almatti Dam which had no ayacut so far. The Chief Minister pointed out that Karnataka was entitled to use 295 tmcft of water from the Tungabhadra in addition to 11 tmcft of regeneration water of the Krishna basin (total 306 tmcft).

But, it was using 320 tmcft in the Tungabhadra sub-basin by 1980-81 itself and 330.97 tmcft now, going by its petition filed in the Supreme Court. As for the Upper Tunga, it had already excavated canals of 330 km length with a capacity to use 40 tmcft against an allocation of 12.3 tmcft.

Mr. Naidu said there was an inequity in the design of the Tungabhadra Dam because the left branch canal which supplied water to Karnataka was at a lower level than the right canals leading into AP.

Moreover, the left canal was not under control of the Tungabhadra Board, administered jointly by AP and Karnataka.

He said the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal Award had clearly laid down that if water available in the TB Dam was less than the total quantity of water required for all the specified projects (230 tmcft), the deficiency should be shared proportionately. In case of excess, water should be kept stored in the dam for use the next year.

Mr. Naidu said the silting of the Tungabhadra Dam had reduced its storage capacity by 34 tmcft following which the AP Government had suggested construction of a parallel high-level canal. Karnataka not only rejected this proposal but began constructing a project at Upper Tunga.

He alleged that Karnataka had fudged figures in its response to the CWC's queries on Paragodu by showing it as a drinking water project with a storage capacity of 138 mcft but not as an irrigation project.

It began construction even before receiving environmental clearance in February 2003.

Sharply criticising the Central Water Commission (CWC) for clearing projects on the basis of information provided by Karnataka, he urged Mr. Vajpayee to cancel these approvals. "The CWC is functioning like a post office. It should act more impartially by collecting accurate information from other sources.''

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