Telangana claims 70 pc of Krishna river water allotted to erstwhile Andhra

Hyderabad: Telangana has claimed nearly 70 per cent of the Krishna river water, which was earlier allocated to the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh, state Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said on Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference in the national capital, the minister said the state is fighting for an equitable share of the river’s water before the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II (KWDT-II).

According to him, the case has reached its final stage with Telangana presenting its concluding arguments since February this year.

Telangana has been presenting its final arguments over the past several months through senior advocate S Vaidyanathan, who has been allotted three days to argue the state’s case in detail, a press release from Reddy’s office said.

The Minister said Telangana’s claim was built on rational and internationally accepted parameters such as catchment area, population within the basin, extent of drought-prone regions, and cultivable land, the release said.

He criticised Andhra Pradesh for earmarking a large portion of its en bloc allocation of 811 TMC for outside-basin diversions.

The Minister came down heavily on the previous BRS government, alleging that it had compromised the state’s interests by agreeing in writing to an allocation of only 299 TMC to Telangana, while allotting 512 TMC to Andhra Pradesh, the release added.