Cabinet Sub-Committee Meet On Tribunal Verdict

The Cabinet Sub-Committee constituted to decide whether to approach the Supreme Court on the recent declaration of the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal (Krishna Water Disputes) that bifurcation did not alter the allocation of the Krishna river water to Maharashtra and Karnataka, on Sunday had detailed discussions with senior counsel A K Ganguli, who is representing Andhra Pradesh in the SC.

Ganguli and his legal team explained the details of the case to Sub-Committee members Ravella Kishore Babu (Social Welfare), Devineni Umamaheswara Rao (Water Resources) and Paritala Sunitha (Civil Supplies).

Talking to the media after the meeting, Rao said that the Sub-Committee had taken the opinion of legal experts, and the next step would be taken after discussing the matter with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and the Cabinet.

Ganguli explained that the Tribunal had made it very clear that fresh allocation of waters to all the four States was against the provisions of the Reorganisation Act. He told the Sub-Committee that there was no mention about distribution or reallocation of water to all the 4 States in Section 89, and much less about allocation to Telangana.

The senior counsel also said that Section 89 had nothing to do with the distribution of water either among the four States or with the withdrawal of allocation made for utilisation outside the Krishna Basin (regions including Rayalaseema).

Umamaheswara Rao said that the reason for the legal entanglement was the "no objection" given by the former YSRCP government to new projects in Karnataka and Maharashtra. He said they had time till December end to challenge the decisions of the Tribunal.