Much to the detriment of the lower riparian State of Andhra Pradesh, the BJP-led government at the Centre has brought the issue of sharing of Krishna water before the Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal-II (KWDT-II) for electoral gains in poll-bound Telangana, alleged CPI State secretary K. Ramakrishna, on Monday.
The share of Andhra Pradesh as 512 TMC and that of Telangana as 299 TMC had already been finalised as per the State Reorganisation Act, and there was no need for reallocation now, he opined.
He added that the Centre has opened the Pandora’s box by publishing gazette notification now.
Upper Bhadra project
The gazette notification came in the wake of the Narendra Modi government granting the national project status to the controversial Upper Bhadra project in another upper riparian State of Karnataka ahead of the Assembly elections there and earmarking of ₹5,300 crore in the Union Budget. This amounts to denying justice to the farmers of the existing ayacuts who depended upon Tungabhadra and Krishna waters in Andhra Pradesh, he said.
It was unfortunate that irrigation projects in Andhra Pradesh, including Polavaram, had been neglected by the Centre. It had also failed to implement the assurances made at the time of bifurcation, including the granting of Special Category Status to the residuary Andhra Pradesh, he said.
Gundlakamma repairs
He was speaking at the conclusion of the padayatra by farmers of Gundalakamma ayacut organised by the Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangam demanding the State government take up immediate repairs to the crest gates of the Gundalakamma reservoir by earmarking ₹10 crore and protect of the interests of the arid Prakasam district which was in the tail-end of the Nagarjunasagar Right Bank canal ayacut. Farmers could not grow crops due to poor inflows into the Krishna basin reservoirs in the lower riparian State this year, he said.
Legal, political battle
The CPI would organise a conference of farmers and irrigation experts in Kadapa on October 18 to fight a legal and political battle to protect the interests of ryots of Andhra Pradesh, including those in Rayalaseema who would be the worst-hit in the event of denial of their due share of Krishna water to Andhra Pradesh, he said.
The ‘‘inept’‘ Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, embroiled in court cases relating to economic offences, remained a ‘‘mute spectator’‘ as the Centre issued the gazette notification when he was camping in New Delhi, he lamented.
