Take over RDS headworks, Telangana to KRMB

Alleges AP govt of obstructing Karnataka officials from undertaking modernisation works

Hyderabad: The Telangana government on Sunday wrote to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to bring the Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS) headworks under its jurisdiction and facilitate speedy completion of the RDS canal modernisation works. It has alleged that the Andhra Pradesh government was obstructing Karnataka officials from undertaking the modernisation works under the guise of law and order.

In his letter to the KRMB chairman, Telangana Engineer-in-Chief C Muralidhar stated that Telangana was entitled to receive part of 15.9 TMC water allocated to erstwhile Andhra Pradesh following the canal modernisation works, but currently the State was receiving less than 30 per cent of its rightful share. He stated that the Andhra Pradesh government was diverting surplus water without obtaining required permissions to irrigate lands in its ayacut through the KC Canal. “Andhra Pradesh has been obstructing the modernisation works of RDS canal for the past 15 years and thus, denying the rightful share of water to Telangana. Apart from taking over the RDS dam into its purview to complete the ongoing modernisation works at the earliest, he suggested that the issue should be brought to the notice of the Union Jal Shakthi Ministry.

The RDS Head works and appurtenant works are stated as ‘Location outside Andhra Pradesh/Telangana’ and are not included for jurisdiction by KRMB. The length of the anicut is 819 m and geographically half of anicut is in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh and the remaining half of the anicut is in Raichur District of Karnataka. This project irrigates 5,879 acres in Karnataka and 87,500 acres in Telangana with an allocation of 17.1 TMC by KWDT-I (Karnataka- 1.2 TMC and 15.9 TMC for erstwhile Andhra Pradesh including Telangana). Due to re-organisation of States in 1956, the anicut and main canal up to 42.60 km (out of 143 km) is under Karnataka and are being maintained by Karnataka.

The full supply discharge of RDS canal at Head is 850 cusecs out of which 770 cusecs is to be available at Karnataka and Telangana. But the actual realisation of discharge is around 400 cusecs. The required discharge is not realised on account of non-maintaining of minimum driving head due to delay in raising the anicut height, uncontrolled flow through construction sluices, ungated vents of river sluices with free flow of water, and lack of sufficient pondage. As a result, this project is realizing hardly 5 TMC instead of 15.9 TMC allocated water for the past 25 years.

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