Andhra Pradesh Telangana Water Dispute
Context:
- Even nine years after the splitting of the combined State, the persistent conflict between Andhra Pradesh (A.P.) and Telangana over the water share of the Krishna river is still unsolved.
The Krishna water dispute’s starting point:
- The conflict began when Andhra Pradesh was created in November 1956.
- Four senior figures from each of the Rayalaseema and Telangana regions of Andhra signed a Gentlemen’s Agreement on February 20, 1956, before to the creation of Andhra Pradesh.
- The agreement included, among other things, a clause that protected Telangana’s demands and interests with regard to the equitable allocation of water resources in accordance with international treaties.
- However, the united dispensation focused on Andhra, which already had systems created by the British, at the expense of in-basin drought-prone districts in Telangana, a fact that was contested by the latter region’s politicians from the start.
KWDT-I Bachawat Tribunal:
- To resolve the disagreement over water sharing among the riparian States of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, the Bachawat Tribunal (KWDT-I) was established in 1969.
- Andhra Pradesh received 811 tmcft of consistent water from the Tribunal. The A.P. Later, the government divided it between Andhra and Telangana at a ratio of 512:299 tmcft, depending on the command area built at the time or the utilisation mechanism in place.
- The Tribunal had additionally suggested delivering water from the Krishna Basin’s Tungabhadra Dam to Telangana’s drought-prone Mahabubnagar region.
- This was not implemented, though, and as a result, the populace became dissatisfied.
- Telangana repeatedly emphasised how it had experienced unfairness in Andhra Pradesh when it came to the division of water resources.
After the split, arrangements for sharing water have been made:
- The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 makes no mention of water sharing because the KWDT-I Award, which was still in effect, did not allocate resources based on regions.
- The two States agreed to ad hoc water sharing in the ratio of 34:66 (Telangana:AP) during a meeting called by the previous ministry of water resources in 2015. The minutes of the meeting made it plain that the agreement must be reviewed annually.
- The Act’s provisions were limited to the management of water resources through the establishment of the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) and Godavari River Management Board (GRMB), two boards.
- The Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) has been tasked with handling the situation after the river board was unable to persuade the member States.
Centre’s position:
- The Union Minister and the Chief Ministers of Telangana and A.P. have been invited to two meetings of the Apex Council, which has been called by the Centre. without making any move to address the situation, in 2016 and 2020.
- Telangana withdrew its case before the Supreme Court about the problem in response to a recommendation issued by the MoJS in 2020 since the Ministry had promised to refer the issue of water shares to a Tribunal.
- But even while the two States continue to argue about it day in and day out, the Centre has been sitting on the topic for more than two years.
Steps to Take:
- Only by establishing a permanent tribunal with Supreme Court appeal jurisdiction over the panel’s ruling can the water conflicts be resolved or balanced.
- Any constitutional government’s first priority should be the amendment of Article 262 and the execution of the Inter-State Water Disputes Act.
- It is time for all of us to reevaluate our approach to managing water, not just at the state level but also nationally, keeping in mind the water scenario over the next 30 years.
- To reach consensus, the communication channels urgently need to be upgraded.
- The system must be strengthened so that the body established by the Centre can appropriately represent the states and safeguard their interests.
