New Delhi, Oct 4 (PTI) The Cabinet has approved the terms of reference of the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal that will govern the division of the river water between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Addressing the media after a Cabinet meeting, Union minister Anurag Thakur said the tribunal will allocate water on project-wise basis in both states for works intended for developmental or future purposes.
“KWDT (Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal) will provide new terms of reference under which the tribunal will divide the water of the Krishna River among both states, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, in the future.
“It will allocate water on a project-wise basis for the proposed projects in both states that are intended for developmental or future purposes,” Thakur said.
Union minister G Kishan Reddy said, “50 lakh farmers will benefit in Telangana. There was a struggle for jobs, funds, and water. The first demand was for water. Telangana has withdrawn its petition from the Supreme Court and has found a solution from the Krishna Water Tribunal.”
Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II was constituted by the Centre in April 2004 on requests made by the party states under Section 3 of the ISRWD Act, 1956.
Subsequently, on 02.06.2014, Telangana state was carved out from Andhra Pradesh.
As per section 89 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act (APRA), 2014, the tenure of the KWDT-II was extended to address Clauses (a) and (b) of the said section of APRA, 2014.
Subsequently, the government of Telangana (GoT) forwarded a complaint on 14.07.2014 to the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD & GR), referring the dispute on the use, distribution or control of Krishna River waters.
A writ petition was also filed in the matter by GoT in the Supreme Court (SC) in 2015. In 2018, GoT further requested DoWR to refer the complaint to the existing KWDT-II by confining the scope of reference between the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh only.
The matter was later discussed in the second apex council meeting in 2020 held under the Minister of Jal Shakti.
As discussed during the second apex council meeting, GoT withdrew the petition in 2021 and, subsequently, the legal opinion of the Ministry of Law and Justice was sought by DoWR, RD & GR in the matter.