Hyderabad: Construction of the Avulapalli balancing reservoir in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor has been strongly opposed by the Telangana irrigation department.
In a letter sent to the chairman of the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) on Thursday, the engineer in chief, of Irrigation and CAD, C Muralidhar sought immediate action to restrain Andhra Pradesh from going ahead with the work on the project.
He also requested the board to address the issue with the Environment Impact Assessment Authority of the Ministry of Environment and Forests to temporarily suspend the environment clearance granted to the scheme.
Pointing towards the fact that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed a penalty of Rs 100 crore on AP for its bid to secure environmental clearance under B2-Category to avoid a detailed environmental impact study and public hearing, the engineer said that tribunal had also directed AP to stop the works in Avulapalli from May 11, 2023.
“However, notwithstanding the orders, AP is still moving on with the building of the Avulapally balancing reservoir,” said the Telangana irrigation department official.
KRMB recently favoured need-based sharing of water between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh by making an interim arrangement to replace the ad hoc sharing system from June 1.
Telangana government has asked for 50:50 water sharing from the existing 66:34 water sharing by AP and Telangana.
On the other hand, AP officials wanted no change in the present system of sharing till the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal delivered its final award.
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