Hyderabad: The Telangana government has told the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal that the historical merger with Andhra Pradesh led to irreversible losses for Telangana in the Krishna basin. It urged a correction of decades-long water inequity and asked for safeguarding of farmers’ interests in the region.
In its submission, the state said Telangana receives only 15% of Krishna waters, while Andhra Pradesh commands 95% of the basin’s irrigated area and net water usage. The government emphasised the need for equitable sharing to protect farmers and workers, particularly in Telangana’s backward regions, which require water even for a single irrigated crop season.
The ongoing hearing before the tribunal in Delhi, held under Section 3 guidelines issued by the Centre, continued on Friday. The tribunal, chaired by Justice Brijesh Kumar with members Justice Ramamohana Reddy and Justice S. Talapatra, heard arguments presented by senior advocate C.S. Vaidyanathan on behalf of Telangana.
He pointed to disparities in water utilisation: each TMC of water irrigates 12,800 acres in Telangana, but only 8,400 acres in Andhra Pradesh. Telangana asked for reassignment of conserved water obtained through efficient usage. It also alleged that the undivided Andhra Pradesh government had wrongly diverted water meant for SLBC (Srisailam Left Bank Canal) to SRBC (Srisailam Right Bank Canal), violating Tribunal-1 guidelines.
Telangana asked for a revision of those allocations and detailed the bias in past decisions, arguing that if the merger hadn’t occurred, regions like Palamuru would have had access to irrigation through SLBC.
The next round of hearings before the tribunal will take place on July 23, 24, and 25, as announced by Justice Brijesh Kumar.
