Ministers, Officials React On Krishna Verdict

The Telangana government came out in disappointment over the Krishna Tribunal's verdict on the sharing of the Krishna river water and said that it was considering moving Supreme Court to protect its interests and secure its rightful share of the river's waters as granted by the AP Reorganization Act, 2013.

Talking to the media in New Delhi after the verdict, adviser to the Telangana government Vidyasagar Rao expressed his dismay over the Tribunal's verdict. He said that the tribunal did not take into consideration the arguments made by the State government on sharing of the Krishna waters.

"The tribunal verdict put us in a spot," he said. However he hoped that more clarity on water-sharing between the two Telugu States would be provided during the Tribunal's next hearing. He also said that the government would soon take a decision on the issue after going through the judgement.

The Tribunal stated that the two Telugu States could share waters, but Karnataka and Maharashtra would have nothing to do with it. While giving four weeks to these States to prepare their answers, the Tribunal adjourned the case to December 14. Stating that the allocation of waters should be made projectwise, Rao said that the tribunal opined that the two Telugu States would settle the issue during drought situation to use waters.

Later, Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao said that he would react to the Tribunal's verdict only after a meeting with Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. The government would take a decision on this, he said.

Additional Advocate General Ramachandra Rao also expressed discontent over the judgement. He said that as per Section 89 of AP Reorganization Act, the river waters should be shared among the four States but the verdict excluded Karnataka and Maharashtra which were also in the Krishna basin, he said. Ramachandra Rao objected to the verdict for difference in the allocation of waters to the two Telugu States and Karnataka and Maharashtra.