india

Updated: Jun 29, 2019 07:00 IST

Five years after the bifurcation of combined Andhra Pradesh, the two Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have decided to work out a common strategy to share surplus waters in Godavari River by diverting the same to the Krishna basin, besides resolving all the other inter-state disputes amicably through a series of meetings.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had a five-hour long meeting with his Telangana counterpart K Chandrasekhar Rao at the latter’s camp office in Hyderabad on Friday.

Cabinet ministers and officials from both the state governments also attended the meeting, which was the first official meeting between the two states after a gap of three years. The last such meeting was held in September 2016 in New Delhi when KCR and then AP chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu had met in the presence of then Union water resources minister Uma Bharati on river water sharing issues.

Both the chief ministers have decided to appoint a joint official committee comprising secretaries of the irrigation departments and engineers of both the states to work out proposals for diversion of Godavari waters to the Krishna basin.

“The committee will submit its report by July 15 to the chief ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, who will meet again in Vijayawada subsequently to take a final decision on the joint strategy to harness the surplus waters,” Telangana health minister Eatala Rajender told reporters after the meeting.

Andhra Pradesh finance minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy said the meeting had discussed various contentious issues between the two states including distribution of assets and institutions mentioned in the Schedule 9 and 10 of the AP Reorganisation Act.

“Both KCR and Jagan Mohan Reddy decided to resolve all these issues through negotiations. The officials concerned of both the states will meet again on Saturday to find a solution,” Reddy said.

The Andhra minister said the two chief ministers had come to an understanding that there was no need to involve any third party – whether it was the Centre or tribunals, to resolve the issues concerning the two states. “They have decided to adopt a give-and-take approach in resolving the same,” he said.

Addressing the meeting in the morning, the Telangana chief minister gave a power point presentation on the availability of water in Krishna and Godavari rivers. He explained in detail how there was a shortage of assured water in the rivers due to several barrages constructed on tributaries of the rivers in upper riparian states like Karnataka and Maharashtra.

“However, there is availability of 4,000 tmc of surplus water in Krishna and Godavari rivers. About 3000 tmc of water is going waste into the sea every year. Since there is less availability of water in the Krishna River, water should be diverted from the Godavari to Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar reservoirs. With this, Rayalaseema, Nellore and Prakasam in Andhra and Mahabubnagar and Nalgonda in Telangana could get water,” he explained.

Appreciating the proposal of the Telangana chief minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy asked the officials concerned to study and submit a report to the government on how to divert water from the Godavari.