Telangana lodges strong protest with KRMB over symbolic control of NSP

For the first time in its 10 years of existence, the KRMB executed its own orders releasing water to the NSP right main canal in response to Andhra Pradesh's water indent with the protection of the CRPF forces.

Hyderabad: The State has lodged a strong protest with the Krishna River Management Board opposing what is being called a ‘symbolic takeover’ by the Board of the operational control of the Nagarjuna Sagar Project.

For the first time in its 10 years of existence, the KRMB executed its own orders releasing water to the NSP right main canal in response to Andhra Pradesh’s water indent with the protection of the CRPF forces. The operations of the dam, which were under the control of Telangana since 2014, were deemed to have taken over by the river board.

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Created as an autonomous body as per the AP Reorganisation Act 2014, the board has been tasked by the Ministry of Water Resources with the management and regulation of Krishna water sharing between the States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

As part of the agreement, the Board in turn had accorded the operational control of the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam to Telangana and the Srisailam dam to Andhra Pradesh. Though the KRMB has wrested away the control of NSP from Telangana, the operational control of Srisailam continues with AP.

Both Engineer-in-Chief (General) C Muralidhar and Chief Engineer of the Nagarjuna Sagar Project, V Ajay Kumar called on the KRMB chairman and expressed their disappointment over the move of the river board.

They maintained that the takeover of the operational control of the NSP was in violation of directions of Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, who wanted restoration of status quo on the dam site as on November 28, 2023. Averting an awkward face-off between the officials of the two States following the forcible occupation of as many as 13 of the 26 crest gates of the project by AP forces on November 29, the union Home secretary had intervened by deploying CRPF forces at the dam.

As desired by him, AP police was dispersed from the project entrusting the responsibility of protection and surveillance of the dam to the central forces. While making it clear that they were not against handing over the project to the Board, the State officials insisted that the project-wise water allocation be finalised first.

They questioned as to why the KRMB preferred to be silent even as 50 tmcs of the river water was utilised by AP over and above its entitled share last year. Series of letters were addressed to the board on the issue but no action could be initiated by it so far, they contended.