Naidu urges Prez to nullify Brijesh Award

New Delhi: TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday called on President Pranab Mukherjee and petitioned him to nullify Brijesh Kumar Tribunal Award on Krishna waters, and to direct the central government not to notify it in the government gazette. Naidu urged the President that a new Tribunal should be constituted to go into the issue of allocation of Krishna waters. Later, he also called on Union Water Resources Minister Harish Rawat to represent to him on the issue.

Leading the delegation of party MPs and former irrigation ministers in the TDP government, Naidu, in an eight-page memorandum, stated that Brijesh Kumar Tribunal overstepped its jurisdiction. While the Bachawat Tribunal factored in 75 per cent dependability, the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal took into account only 65 per cent dependability of water flows, which would considerably affect allocations to Andhra Pradesh.

Besides, while the Bachawat Tribunal relied on 112-years data available on water flows, the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal relied only on 47 years of water flows.

Naidu described as a “blunder” the decision of the Brijesh Tribunal to reopen the issue of 75 per cent dependability. He said the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal also ruled that Andhra Pradesh had no right to surplus waters. Right to surplus waters was given to Andhra Pradesh – which is a tail-end State – to utilise the surplus waters. This was a right given by the Bachawat Award, which was defended by four successive Chief Ministers.

Now, the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal had taken away that right, dealing a severe blow to the lower-riparian State. The Central Water Commission (CWC) had carried out a hydrological survey, which would provide a scientific basis for making water allocations. The Brijesh Kumar Tribunal, on the other hand, resorted to highly improper allocations that had no scientific basis, alleged the TDP chief.

For instance, allowing Karnataka to raise the height of the Almatti Dam to 524.256 metres would provide additional capacity to store 103 tmc ft water. The Andhra Pradesh Government had undertaken a hydrological survey, which revealed that at the existing height of 519.6 metres, Almatti Dam can store up to 225 tmc ft water.

Seven irrigation projects taken up at a cost of Rs 33,000 crore, covering the ayacut area of 22.10 lakh acres, would become defunct for want of adequate water. People in 14 districts would suffer severe water shortage for irrigation, besides drinking water. Hyderabad drinking water scheme would also be severely affected, as a result, Naidu said.