Hyderabad: The Telangana Irrigation department has asked the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to restrain the Andhra Pradesh government from undertaking expansions for the Galeru Nagari Sujala Sravanthi (GNSS) project. Telangana has also asked the KRMB to modify the said expansions.
The GNSS project is an irrigation project in Kadapa and Chitoor districts of Andhra Pradesh which the government hopes will irrigate around 265,000 acres of land and provide drinking water facilities to villages and towns en route.
Telangana claims that the expansion does not currently have any appraisal from the KRMB and is not approved by the apex council either. The AP government has been accorded administrative approval for “Improvements, widening and providing lining” to the GNSS main canal up to 56 kilo meters to meet the requirements of the lift scheme.
It has also been accorded administrative approval for the lift irrigation scheme to lift up to 150 cusecs of water from GNSS main canal to fill the tanks for an amount of around Rs 56 crores.
The Telangana irrigation department argued that the GNSS draws water from Pothireddypadu’s head regulator, and also from the Srisailam Right Main Canal (SRMC) and cross regulator in Banakacherla. But the Pothireddypadu Head Regulator (PRP HR) is approved for drawing only 34 Thousand Million Cubic feet and the allotment for SRMC is 11,150 cusecs during flood flows via four old gates.
Telangana accused AP of not pleading for allocation of water which comes from dependable flows to the GNSS project under section 89 proceedings before Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-2 (KWDT-2) and hence Telangana is contesting the GNSS project itself.
As such, Telangana irrigation department has asked KRMB to restrict AP government from their expansion projects and quoted government orders 121 and 122 as reasons for said restrictions.