KRISHNA WATER DISPUTE
Context:
- Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have complained to the Supreme Court that Karnataka has not provided any information on how much Krishna river water it has diverted in the last 14 years.
- Karnataka, on the other hand, contended that a lot of water is wasted — “streaming down into the ocean” — and that it is necessary to use it for cultivation and to replenish parched areas.
Karnataka’s demands:
- Karnataka has asked the Supreme Court to vacate an order from November 16, 2011 that prevented the Centre from publishing in the Official Gazette the final order of the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal II (KWDT) issued in December 2010, allocating river water to Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
- On November 29, 2013, the KWDT modified its final order and report to distribute surplus water to Karnataka, Maharashtra, and the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh while preserving the 2130 TMC originally allocated to them.
What exactly is the problem now:
- The publishing of the Tribunal’s order is a necessary requirement for its implementation.
- Following Andhra Pradesh’s bifurcation, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court disputing the KWDT’s share allotment.
What should be done right now:
- Karnataka has argued that the Supreme Court’s 2011 order not to publish the KWDT decisions in the Official Gazette under Section 6(1) of the Inter-State Water Disputes Act of 1956 has caused its dam and irrigation projects worth thousands of crores to be stalled for years, preventing it from providing water to its parched northern areas.
- Karnataka has stated that the conflict between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana is between the two states and does not affect it.
Karnataka has the following challenges:
- The KWDT’s ruling was only valid until 2050, after which it had to be revisited or altered.
- Since 2010, ten years have passed in the courtroom. Several irrigation projects in Karnataka took at least ten years to complete, with a total cost of 60,000 crore in 2014-15.
- The costs would rise by 10% to 15% per year. Even if the irrigation projects are completed in ten years, getting approval from the Central Water Commission will take time.
What exactly is the point of contention:
- The conflict originated with the former republics of Hyderabad and Mysore, and has now spread to successor states Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.
- Under the Inter-State River Water Dispute Act, 1956, the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT) was established in 1969 and published its report in 1973.
The research, which was published in 1976, divided the 2060 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of Krishna water into three segments based on 75% dependability:
- Maharashtra will receive 560 TMC.
- Karnataka will receive 700 TMC.
- Andhra Pradesh will receive 800 TMC.
Order has been changed:
- The second KWDT was established in 2004 when fresh complaints between the states surfaced.
It issued a report in 2010 that made the following allocations of Krishna water with a 65 percent reliability and for surplus flows:
- Maharashtra has 81 TMC, Karnataka has 177 TMC, while Andhra Pradesh has 190 TMC.
- Andhra Pradesh is requesting that Telangana be included as a distinct party at the KWDT and that the allocation of Krishna waters be split among four states instead of three, following the formation of Telangana as a separate state in 2014.
Source: THE HINDU.