Telugu States Spar Over Water Allocation Ratio

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy today urged the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to distribute the waters of the Krishna in a 70:30 ratio between the two Telugu states, with 70% being allotted to AP and the remaining 30% to Telangana.

While the Telangana government had urged the board to allot the water in a 50:50 ratio, the AP administration has been quick to oppose the demand.

The issue has come to the fore again as the KRMB is to hold a meeting on August 27 to sort out the longstanding and rather bitter water dispute among the two states. It had recently written to the Jagan regime seeking its opinion on the appeal made by the Telangana government for 50-50 allocations ahead of the upcoming meeting.

Reacting to the letter, the AP administration has urged the board to allot the waters in a 70:30 ratio and has asked that the norms outlined in the AP Bifurcation Act are followed in the allocation process. It has also strongly opposed the KCR government's claims that it has violated NGT norms by using more water for power production in Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar and Pulichintala.

Currently, while 66% of the Krishna's waters have been allocated to AP, Telangana gets 34%. The KRMB hopes to resolve the tensions surrounding the allocation at its upcoming meeting.