Hyderabad: The irrigation department of Telangana government has asked Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to stall all new projects and expansion of existing projects and canals without consulting KRMB.
The Chief Engineer of the irrigation department wrote to the chairman of KRMB regarding Greenko’s establishment of Integrated Renewable Energy Project (IREP) at Pinnapuram village in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh (AP).
He stated that the project is based on drawing of Krishna river’s water, which is a deficit basin. Diverting the water outside of the basin to utilize it for Hydro-power generation could lead to serious consequences pertaining to shortage of water in Telangana.
Greenko’s 1550 megawatt (MW) renewable energy project was given required clearances for the establishment of India’s largest renewable energy project in AP. It proposed a 1000 MW solar, 550 MW wind energy plants, and 1200 MW pumped hydroelectric storage.
The Chief engineer cited AP’s government order (GO) 64, which states that any projects related to the Krishna river requires prior consultation and approval of KRMB. He said that the IREP project is in violation of GO 64, and that the project has to be stalled.
Meanwhile, a foundation laying ceremony was performed at the project site by Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on 17 May.
Post the bifurcation of the erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh, the current states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have been in a constant battle over their claims on water from Krishna river.
