Regulation of surplus water during monsoon under consideration

New Delhi: The issue of regulation of surplus water during monsoon period from the main stem reservoirs on Krishna River is under consideration in Krishna River Management Board (KRMB).

The Reservoir Management Committee (RMC) of KRMB has been entrusted to evolve a methodology for demarcation of surplus water over and above 75% dependable flows in Krishna basin in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh region.

This was disclosed by Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Bishweswar Tudu, in reply to a question on the utilisational rights on waters otherwise going waste into the sea from Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada and diverting the same for other purposes in AP in its quota.

The question was that of YSRCP MP V Vijaisai Reddy in the Rajya Sabha which came up here on Monday.

The MP sought to know whether the technical committee of the Central Water Commission made it clear that the floodwater was going waste into sea should not be included in the State quota of AP and whether Bachawat Tribunal had given liberty to Andhra Pradesh to use the floodwater as it wished.

He also sought to know the reasons and justification behind KRMB including floodwaters in AP quota and whether the Centre had set things right and removed anomalies in calculating floodwaters into AP's account.

The Union Minister further added that the Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation had constituted a technical committee of the Central Water Commission for regulation of surplus water during monsoon period spilling from the main stem projects on Krishna river for supply to the States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

However, the Committee could not complete its mandate because of non-submission of requisite data by the two States.

As per the final order of the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-I (Bachawat Tribunal), the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh was given liberty to use in a water year the remaining water that may be flowing in the river Krishna without acquiring any right over it. He said, "With the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act (2014), the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated into Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and the term of Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II (KWDT-II) has been extended inter alia for making project-wise specific allocation, if such allocations have not been made by a Tribunal constituted under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956."