Chief Justice of India N V Ramana today advised the two Telugu states - Telangana and Andhra Pradesh - to resolve their longstanding and bitter dispute over the sharing of the waters of the Krishna basin through mediation.
He made this suggestion while dealing with a petition filed on the water row.
At the hearing, the counsel for Telangana told the Supreme Court that there was no need to hold any hearing on the petition filed by AP as the Centre had already issued a
gazette notification outlining clearly the jurisdiction of the Krishna and Godavari River Management Boards which "negated the need" for a further hearing.
However the counsel for AP urged the apex court to issue orders for the immediate implementation of the gazette instead of its appointed day, in October, saying that the state could not afford to lose water for the next couple of months.
This exchange prompted Ramana to suggest that the two states resolve the water sharing conflict through mediation. Recusing himself from the proceedings, he clarified that he would not hear the dispute as he felt that he "belonged to both states".
Ramana then once again advised the senior advocates of the two states to take a decision over the petition filed before him after consulting their respective state governments.
He said that he would adjourn the matter for a different date if the two states wanted more suggestions from the Centre and added that he would also transfer the case to a different bench.
The hearing was then adjourned till Wednesday (August 4).
Though the water feud has coloured the relations between AP and Telangana for years, the issue came to the fore again recently after AP accused Telangana of drawing water indiscriminately from the basin to fulfil its power requirements. The AP government has repeatedly pointed out that this violates a 2015 agreement on water sharing.