AP’s lift irrigation schemes unauthorized: Telangana informs KRMB
Hyderabad: Telangana informed Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) that the Andhra Pradesh government has taken up a new project – Guru Raghavendra scheme to lift 5.373 TMC of water from right bank of Tungabhadra river by means of 13 several individual lift irrigation schemes (LISs) and minor lift irrigation schemes.
These LISs were taken up starting from downstream of RDS and up to Sunkesula barrage even though there was no approval or allocation of water for this scheme. Since all these LISs including Guru Raghavendra project were unauthorized, the KRMB must take appropriate action to stop drawls from Tungabhadra River by AP till they are appraised by KRMB or Central Water Commission (CWC) and approved by Apex Council, said Telangana Irrigation and Command Area Development Engineer-in-Chief (General) C Muralidhar in a letter to the Board Chairman.
He urged the Board to account for utilizations made by AP in all LISs in this water year.
Meanwhile, Muralidhar also urged the Board to take over RDS anicut into its jurisdiction and ensure that 15.9 TMC to Telangana are realized since the State was unable to realize its share of water for the past three decades. In a separate letter to the Board Chairman, he said since KC canal was utilizing more than its share for the past three decades, the issue of regulated releases does not arise.
ut the KRMB desires to conduct studies to distribute water at RDS in 10:7 ratio (AP:TS) which is not the intent of Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT-I) Award.
However, in case KRMB desires to go for studies, the following terms of reference (TOR) may be included in addition to certain conditions. According to Muralidhar, the studies should be conducted by removing all the mound, deposits of sand and silt accumulated in between the head regulator and the rivulet (Rajoli vagu) joining Tungabhadra River, river training works for streamlining all flows towards head regulator.
To study whether RDS canal head regulator and common canal could draw its designed discharge to ensure 770 cusecs at 42.60 km on the border of Telangana and Karnataka of the canal by impounding of water up to the crest level of anicut plugging all the right-side vents including construction sluices considering the existing canal hydraulic particulars.
To assess the extent of raising of Full Tank Level (FTL) of RDS pond consequent to raising of FSL of RDS canal during modernization, to enable RDS to realize its design discharge. “We are requesting to consider the above aspects while initiating further steps in this regard,” Muralidhar said.
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