Krishna River water share of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh

• Telangana has made it clear that it will not accept the 34:66 (Telangana : Andhra Pradesh) ratio imposed on it since the partition for an additional year.

Key highlights:

• The Special Chief Secretary (Irrigation) of Telangana has stated that Telangana is entitled to a 70% share in 811 tmcft allocated to combined AP by the KWDT-I Award.
• But the erstwhile AP had apportioned it in 512:299 tmcft (Andhra Pradesh : Telangana) ratio without protecting the in-basin requirements in the fluoride and drought-affected areas of Telangana and considering the judicious needs of the region.
• The Board Chairman has placed it on record that the matter would now be referred to the Ministry of Jal Shakti for its intervention.
• Telangana authorities stated that they would not agree for anything less than 50:50 shares till finalisation of shares.
• The Ministry of Jal Shakti has failed to refer the matter of water shares to a Tribunal, new or existing, for over two years now, although Telangana had withdrawn its petition in the Supreme Court.

Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal:

• The Inter-State River Water Dispute Act, 1956, established the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT) in 1969, and it delivered its report in 1973.
• In addition, it was stated that any time after May 31, 2000, a competent body or tribunal could review or alter the KWDT order.

Second KWDT

• The second KWDT was instituted in 2004.
• It delivered its report in 2010, which made allocations of the Krishna water at 65 % dependability and for surplus flows as follows: 81 TMC for Maharashtra, 177 TMC for Karnataka, and 190 TMC for Andhra Pradesh.

After the KWDT’s 2010 report:

• Andhra Pradesh challenged it through a Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court in 2011.
• In 2013, the KWDT issued a ‘further report’, which was again challenged by Andhra Pradesh in the Supreme Court in 2014.
  
  

Creation of Telangana:

• After the creation of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh has asked that Telangana be included as a separate party at the KWDT and that the allocation of Krishna waters be reworked among four states, instead of three.
• It is relying on Section 89 of The Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Act, 2014.
• For the purposes of this section, it is clarified that the project-specific awards already made by the Tribunal on or before the appointed day shall be binding on the successor States.