The Andhra Pradesh government would take up three major issues at the meeting of the Krishna River Management Board in Hyderabad on October 1, so as to protect its water interests. The first issue is non-shifting of the head office of KRMB, currently located in Hyderabad to Andhra Pradesh. The AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 states that the head office of KRMB must be located in AP and the Godavari River Management Board in Hyderabad of Telangana. However, the head offices of both continue to be functioning from Hyderabad.
The AP government wants the head office of KRMB to be in Amaravati, the state capital. AP is currently developing huge infrastructure to accommodate various institutions there. Moreover, as several central government offices are also working in Vijayawada, the KRMB’s head office can be accommodated in one such building until a permanent establishment is set up in Amaravati. The second major issue is a demand that the KRMB issue a water release order for both AP and TG. With zero inflow of water from upstream Almatti dam into Srisailam reservoir, and since Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir is also not having any major inflow of water, AP intends to seek sharing of the currently available water in both the reservoirs.
This, it says, should be in the ratio of 66:34 between AP and Telangana up to May next, in order to meet mainly the drinking water needs of the people. Thirdly, the AP government is expected to take up the contentious issue of handing over 15 major common components of all the projects including mainly of the Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar projects to the KRMB to make them work under its control. Some of these major components include the spillway, the left bank power house, the right bank power house of the Srisailam project and its power houses, the left main canal and right main canal of the Nagarjuna Sagar project etc.
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