In a move that has escalated the ongoing water dispute between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over the waters of the Krishna and the Godavari rivers, the Engineer in Chief of AP's water resources department Narayana Reddy today made clear the AP government's decision, that the office of Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) be shifted from Vijayawada to Visakhapatnam district as per the provisions of AP Reorganisation Act, would indeed be implemented.
He made these remarks while speaking to the media after a attending a three-member committee meeting on the matter.
Speaking on the issue, Reddy said that the relocation of the KRMB was "imminent", and there would be "no second thoughts" on the shifting of the office as the board had already been informed of the decision, and it had accepted the proposed move.
"The decision to shift the KRMB has been taken after much consideration. It keeps in mind the logistical needs of the officials of the two states, and the needs of the board itself," he added.
The AP government had announced its decision to shift the KRMB to Visakhapatnam a little more than a month ago, prompting the Telangana government to object to the decision. Engineer-in-Chief C Muralidhar had also resisted the move, and had said that Telangana would not agree to the shifting of the office to any location outside the basin as the move would serve no purpose, and would only inconvenience the officials of the board.
A senior official of the irrigation department had even said that various water users' groups had also said they would agitate against the shifting, as Visakhapatnam was 400 km away from the centre of Krishna basin, located in Vijayawada.
While the Centre had hoped to resolve the conflict between the two states, and had asked the two governments to
submit the DPRs of the states' new irrigation projects in this regard, the AP government's newest decision has stirred up the feud all over again.