SZC meet: Telangana to abide by KWDT allocation to Palamuru, Nakkalagandi LIS; settle power dues

Hyderabad: Telangana has informed the Centre that it will abide by the allocation made by the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT –II) in respect of the Palamuru Rangareddy and Nakkalagandi Lift Irrigation System.

In the 29th SZC meet at Tirupati chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Palamuru Rangareddy and Nakkalagandi Lift Irrigation System became a topic of discussion. The Palamuru Rangareddy LIS and Nakkalagandi LIS were taken up by united Andhra Pradesh based on the allocation of all surplus waters to the erstwhile lower riparian state of AP by the Bachawat Tribunal.

The issue of allocation of Krishna waters between Telangana and present Andhra Pradesh is being dealt with by Brijesh Kumar Tribunal (KWDT-II). The government of Telangana informed that it will abide by the allocation made by KWDT –II in respect of the above 2 projects.

It was also decided in the meeting that Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of the above projects would be submitted to the Krishna River Management Board by January 15 so that Central Water Commission (CWC) can appraise the projects.

The other issue raised in the meeting was with regard to the construction of Rajiv Gandhi Sangambanda Barrage by Telangana and the resulting submergence of the villages/lands in Karnataka.

The government of Telangana has already addressed a letter to the Govt. of Karnataka on 11.10.2021, requesting them to depute a team of officers to conduct a joint survey to resolve the issue of submergence of lands in Karnataka state. It was decided in the meeting to have a joint inspection by Karnataka and Telangana.

The other issues discussed included settlement of dues of Rs.6015 Crores to be paid by Power utilities of Telangana to Andhra Pradesh towards the cost of power supplied after the state's bifurcation. It was resolved in the meeting that both the states will meet and discuss and resolve the pending payments issue.

Issues related to the division of properties of AP Bhawan, division of government companies and corporations, and bifurcation of government institutions were also taken up for discussion in the meeting.

Another important decision was made with regard to the establishment of the tribal university. Telangana Government has identified an extent of 335 acres of land required for the university. A temporary campus with a capacity of 200 persons is also identified at Youth Training Centre, Mulugu. It was informed that a detailed project report for Rs.849 crores was prepared by Hyderabad Central University and is submitted to the government of India.

Along with Mohammed Mahmood Ali, Home Minister and Chief Secretary, Somesh Kumar, K. Ramakrishna Rao, Special Chief Secretary, Finance, Sunil Sharma, Special Chief Secretary, Energy, Rajat Kumar, Special Chief Secretary, Irrigation, Ravi Gupta, Principal Secretary, Home, and Vikas Raj, Principal Secretary, General Administration Department (GAD) attended the meeting from Telangana.