KRISHNA
WATER DISPUTE - GEOGRAPHY
News:
Explained | The
Telangana- Andhra Pradesh water dispute
What's
in the news?
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The nagging dispute over the water share
of the Krishna River between Andhra Pradesh (A.P.) and Telangana remains
unresolved, even nine years after the bifurcation of the combined State.
Origin
of the Krishna water dispute:
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The dispute dates back to the formation of Andhra Pradesh in November,
1956.
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Before the formation of Andhra Pradesh,
four senior leaders each from different regions of Andhra, including the
Rayalaseema Region and the Telangana region, signed a Gentlemen’s Agreement on
February 20, 1956.
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Among others, one of the provisions of the
agreement was the protection of Telangana’s interests and needs with respect to
the utilisation of water resources with equitable distribution based on
treaties followed globally.
Bachawat
Tribunal (KWDT-I):
●
1969, the Bachawat Tribunal (KWDT-I) was
constituted to settle the dispute around water share among the riparian States of Maharashtra, Karnataka
and Andhra Pradesh (before bifurcation).
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The Tribunal allocated 811 tmcft
dependable water to Andhra Pradesh.
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The Andhra Pradesh government later
apportioned it in the 512:299 tmcft ratio between Andhra (including parts of
Rayalaseema which comprise the Krishna Basin) and Telangana, respectively,
based on the command area developed or utilisation mechanism established by
then.
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The
Tribunal had also recommended taking the Tungabhadra Dam (a part of the Krishna
Basin) water to the drought-prone Mahabubnagar area of Telangana.
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However, this was not followed through,
giving birth to discontent among the people.
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Telangana had time and again reiterated
how it had been meted out with injustice in Andhra Pradesh when it came to the
matter of distributing water resources.
Arrangements
for water sharing after the bifurcation:
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There is no mention of water shares in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act,
2014, since the KWDT-I Award, which was still in force, had not made any
region-wise allocation.
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The arrangement in the Act was only for
the management of water resources by setting up two Boards, the Krishna River
Management Board (KRMB) and the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB).