sibling-telugu-states-embroiled-in-bitter-water-war

The pangs of separation continue to haunt the sibling Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The dispute over sharing of river waters is among the most intractable disputes.

 

The latest controversy the two states find themselves embroiled in pertains to the Banakacherla project, an ambitious plan by AP to link the Godavari and Krishna River basins through a chain of reservoirs, canals, and lift irrigation schemes.

 

A pet project of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, it was first envisioned in 2014 soon after the bifurcation of the combined Andhra Pradesh to carve out a separate Telangana state.

 

With Naidu being at the helm again in AP, his government is keen on fast-tracking the project, but facing fierce resistance from Telangana.

 

Political blame game

 

River water dispute has always been an emotive issue in the Telugu states. In fact, a perceived injustice against the Telangana region in water sharing and irrigation coverage was one of the key planks of the statehood movement.

 

It was contended during the agitation that Telangana’s water resources were being diverted to Andhra Pradesh because of regional disparities. Building a reservoir to divert water from the Godavari to Andhra Pradesh has thus opened old wounds.

 

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), which spearheaded the agitation for a separate state and is now in the opposition, has accused Congress Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy of “allowing” AP to go ahead with the controversial project. Before bifurcation, Revanth Reddy was with the Telugu Desam Party headed by Chandrababu Naidu before switching over to the Congress in the wake of changed political realities in the new state.

 

The opposition party often taunts Revanth Reddy for his ‘continued loyalty towards his former boss (Chandrababu Naidu).

 

However, the Chief Minister dismissed the charge and dared the BRS supremo and former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao for a debate in the Assembly over the project.

 

On his part, Naidu has vowed to build a massive reservoir at Banakacherla in Nandyal district. The Telangana government is vehemently opposing the project, saying it violates the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.

 

What is Banakacherla reservoir plan?

 

The Banakacherla reservoir project is meant to transform AP’s drought-prone Rayalaseema region into fertile land.

 

As per the plan, the first step would be to enhance the Polavaram Right Main Canal’s capacity from 17,500 cusecs to 38,000 cusecs to allow the transfer of Godavari water to Krishna basin.

 

Then, the capacity of Thatipudi Lift Irrigation Scheme’s canal will be increased from 1,400 cusecs to 10,000 cusecs.

 

A reservoir will then be constructed at Bollapalli in Guntur district, from where water will be lifted at a rate of 28,000 cusecs for transferring to the Banakacherla reservoir. Lift stations will be established at Harischandrapuram, Lingapuram, Vyyandana, Gangireddypalem, and Nakirekallu to pump water to the Bollapalli reservoir. The water will then be diverted to the Veligonda reservoir and Banakacherla reservoir via a tunnel passing through the Nallamala forest.

 

Chandrababu Naidu’s main claim is that the water being diverted to Banakacherla is surplus water from the Godavari.

 

“Nearly 2,000 Million Cubic Feet (tmc ft) water from the Godavari flows into the sea unutilised, while the Rayalaseema region suffers from drought,” said AP Finance Minister P Keshav.

 

Telangana’s objections

 

In response, the Telangana government has accused Andhra of violating the inter-state river water sharing agreement agreed to in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.

 

Both the CM and Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy have written to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil, stating that the Banakacherla project violates the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Act, 2014.

 

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The project should be kept in abeyance because it has not yet received approval from the Apex Council managing the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) and the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB), and the Central Water Commission, they have claimed.

 

Telangana has contended that the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal has ruled on 1,486 TMCft of Godavari between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, of which Telangana was allotted 968 TMCft. The tribunal did not determine the extent of surplus water in the river, and hence Banakacherla project will be a threat to Telangana’s water security, it has claimed.

 

Diverting Godavari waters to Banakacherla will affect the water projects of the state, Telangana has said.

 

Inter-linking of river basins

 

Post-bifurcation, AP has strived to utilise the ‘surplus’ Godavari waters to provide relief to a drought-prone Rayalseema region. As per Naidu’s vision, by interlinking the Godavari-Krishna basins, the 2000 tmc. ft. Godavari River water flowing into the Bay of Bengal can be diverted from the Polavaram Dam towards the Banakacherla region in Rayalseema.

 

To link Godavari and Krishna, Andhra plans on diverting Godavari flood waters to Prakasam Barrage on Krishna River at Vijayawada and then pump it to the Bollapalli reservoir via canals, and irrigation lifts. From there, tunnels passing under Nallamala forests will transfer water to Banakacherla reservoir, benefitting Kadapa and Kurnool regions.

 

With an estimated cost of Rs 80, 112 crore, Banakacherla project requires the acquisition of 40,500 acres including forest land.

 

Annually, 3000 tmc of Godavari floodwaters run into the Bay of Bengal during the 100-odd days of monsoon. Andhra wishes to divert 200 tmc of this run-off towards Krishna basin by enhancing Polavaram Right Main Canal’s capacity to 38,000 cusecs, Thatipudi Lift Irrigation Scheme’s canal to 10,000 cusecs and construct a reservoir at Bollapalli with a storage capacity of 150 tmc ft.

 

Andhra sees this as the most viable solution to Rayalseema’s drought woes.

 

Andhra’s argument

 

In 2013, the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal divided the available 2130 tmc ft of Krishna waters among undivided Andhra (1005 tmc), Karnataka (907 tmc) and Maharashtra (666 tmc). Since the award, both Telugu states have been crying foul, arguing that the Tribunal had robbed them of their freedom to use surplus water in their natural catchment. The Tribunal, in its calculations, has equally divided the surplus water of 285 tmc between undivided Andhra and the other two states.

 

Post-bifurcation, Naidu and then Telangana KCR struck a deal allowing Telangana to utilise 299 tmc ft and Andhra 512 tmc ft of the 811 tmc ft of Krishna River waters, awarded to unified Andhra Pradesh by the Bachawat Tribunal in 1976.

 

Similarly, the Godavari Water Dispute Tribunal (GWDT) ordered Andhra Pradesh to divert 80 tmc ft of Godavari waters from Polavaram to Krishna River to be shared upstream with Karnataka and Maharashtra. Without any mention of surplus waters, the tribunal allotted 1486 tmc ft to undivided Andhra.

 

AP government claims that with the Polavaram-Banakacherla link, the State was only using ‘unused surplus waters’ flowing into Andhra Pradesh after the needs of the upper riparian States were met.

 

Affirming that both Polavaram project and Banakacherla were in compliance with the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, Andhra has requested to maintain status quo on the allocations of the Krishna River water made by the Tribunal. Mr. Naidu has also asked Telangana to discuss with the Centre about the legal sanctity to utilise flood waters flowing into the sea.

 

Environmental concerns

 

Experts have raised environmental concerns over the contentious project. “Increasing the Polavaram canal capacity will significantly alter the natural west-to-east flow regime. This could reduce freshwater inflows to downstream deltas, leading to increased salinity intrusion, loss of sediment and nutrients, disruption of aquatic ecosystems, and harm to agriculture and fisheries in the Godavari and Krishna deltas,” said Shrinivas Badiger, a Fellow at Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment.

 

Another activist Shripad Dharmadhikary, founder of water research organisation ‘Manthan’, contended, “It will impact the delta downstream of the Polavaram project. Reduced flow will bring down the sediments and silt flowing downstream, reducing soil fertility, increasing saltwater ingress, thus impacting productivity of agriculture, fish and nearby mangroves”.

 

Countering Andhra’s assertion that the project was the ‘only solution’ to Rayalseema’s water woes, Badiger said, “Other measures like groundwater recharge, rainwater harvesting, micro-irrigation, and smaller intra-basin transfers have not been fully exhausted. The project also faces significant legal, environmental, and interstate challenges that complicate its implementation.”

 

Last month, the Central Environmental Expert Committee refused to grant environmental clearance to the project. Citing multiple objections, it stated that any progress must be in line with the 1980 verdict of the GWDT. Moreover, it urged Andhra to consult the Central Water Commission (CWC) for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Terms of Reference (ToR), floodwater evaluation and inter-State water-sharing concerns. Andhra’s proposal has now been returned to the state for further clarification and revision.