Hyderabad: The Supreme Court on Monday, January 5, questioned the maintainability of the writ petition filed by the Telangana government challenging the expansion of the Polavaram-Nallamala Sagar Link Project.
A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi asked the states to think of mediation on the issue, and advised Telangana to bring its objections to the notice of the statutory committee formed by the Centre.
The Telangana government has challenged the expansion of the Polavaram project, saying that the project can only be executed in accordance with the original plan and that any additional works are illegal.
They also objected to the Centre’s decision to examine pre-feasibility reports without first addressing Telangana’s objections and alleged that the Andhra Pradesh government was preparing a detailed project report in breach of Central Water Commission (CWC) guidelines.
Appearing for Telangana, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi asked for interim relief, contending that the dispute was not limited to issues of water sharing and did not fall within the jurisdiction of any tribunal constituted under the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956. He submitted that the violations warranted an urgent stay on the project expansion, reported Live Law.
The matter has been posted for hearing on January 12.
Telangana to never accept Polavaram expansion: Uttam Kumar
After the court’s hearing, Telangana Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy assured that the government will never agree to the construction of the Polavaram-Nallamala Sagar link project by the Andhra Pradesh government, and will definitely stop it.
He said that the Andhra government’s proposals are a clear violation of the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal 1980 award and interstate water regulations.
He said not only Telangana but also Maharashtra and Karnataka states are opposing this project.
Saying that the arguments in the Supreme Court have been postponed to next Monday, he said that Telangana has been advised to convert the writ petition into a suit petition and file it accordingly.
The minister stated that he would personally attend the arguments next Monday and would seek a stay order.
He added that in the next two days, they would hold another special meeting with the lawyers to formulate a strategy to protect the interests of Telangana.
(With inputs from IANS.)
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