Expert panel to resolve Andhra-Telangana water disputes

Hyderabad: The Central government on Wednesday decided to constitute an expert committee — comprising technical officials and Central officers, among others — to resolve water-sharing disputes between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

This decision was taken at a meeting convened by Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil and attended by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his Telangana counterpart A Revanth Reddy.

"The committee will work collaboratively to study outstanding concerns and suggest viable solutions to ensure equitable and efficient water sharing," said the Jal Shakti Ministry in a statement.

In the meeting, it was decided that a separate office for the Krishna River Management Board would be set up at Amaravati, while the Godavari River Management Board would be in Hyderabad.

The boards, which must be set up by July 21, are expected to oversee water allocations and usage under the Krishna and Godavari river systems — contentious issues since Andhra Pradesh's 2014 bifurcation.

"Both states agreed on the installation of telemetry devices for real-time monitoring of water flows in the Krishna Basin. It was also agreed that immediate measures would be taken to address maintenance issues to safeguard the Srisailam dam," said the ministry.

Telangana Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy, who was also part of the delegation, confirmed this long-standing demand of his state and said: “The devices will be installed on a war footing.”

The meeting followed Telangana’s Opposition to Andhra Pradesh’s Polavaram-Banakacherla link project, which envisages diverting 200 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) of Godavari floodwater from Polavaram to the Banakacherla regulator in the Kurnool district.

Revanth Reddy told reporters after the meeting that the expert committee would submit its observations within 30 days.

"The Central government has also directed Andhra Pradesh to undertake immediate repair work on the Srisailam project, which is crucial for water supply and power generation for both states," he said.

The Telangana CM, however, noted that the controversial Polavaram-Banakacherla project — for which Naidu has been seeking the Central government’s support, claiming that it would help drought-proof the Rayalaseema region — did not come up for discussion.