The Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) has submitted its interim report on the construction of the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (LIS) by the Andhra Pradesh government to the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
While submitting the interim report, it has reportedly urged the tribunal to grant it three weeks to submit a complete report on the issue.
It is pertinent to mention here that the AP government recently told the river board delegation which will be visiting the Rayalaseema project site for inspection not to include any members from Telangana. It made clear its displeasure at the inclusion of one Devender Rao, a native of Telangana, in the delegation, and demanded that a new member be nominated in Rao's place.
The NGT also issued similar orders and asked the board to not include anybody from either of the two Telugu states in the inspection team.
Following this, the board assured the NGT and the two Telugu states that it would inspect the project only after the nomination of a new member.
Meanwhile, the Telangana government today once again told the KRMB that it would not be able to attend the upcoming board meeting scheduled for August 9 on the Krishna water sharing row.
Principal Secretary (Irrigation) Rajat Kumar wrote separate letters to the Krishna and the Godavari boards urging them to postpone the meeting date. He stated that the TRS government had decided to attend the meeting on another date as it would not be able to attend Monday's meeting.
"We have
already appealed to the KRMB to conduct a full-member meeting on another date that is favourable for our officials," Kumar said.
In response to the earlier appeal for postponement, the board had written a letter to the irrigation department asking it to attend the August 9 meeting as the Centre had directed it to "speed up" the process of water allocation and to address all related issues.