Disputes between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

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Following the bifurcation of undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2014, Telangana and residual Andhra Pradesh continued to fight over issues such as assets division, river water sharing and return of five villages near Bhadrachalam to Telangana. In 2024, a new beginning was made with the meeting between the newly elected chief ministers on 6 July 2024. The chief ministers decided to constitute committees at the level of chief secretaries and ministers to speed up resolution. [1]

Contents

Assets division with Telangana

There are 91 institutions under schedule IX with assets of ₹1.42 lakh crore, 142 institutions under schedule X with assets of ₹24,018.53 crore, and another 12 institutions not mentioned in the act with assets of ₹1,759 crore, which are to be split between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana following the bifurcation. An expert committee headed by Sheela Bhide gave a recommendation for bifurcation of 89 out of the 91 schedule IX institutions. Telangana selectively accepted the recommendations, while Andhra Pradesh asked for their acceptance in total. The division of the RTC headquarters and the Deccan Infrastructure and Landholdings Limited (DIL) with huge land parcels has become contentious. Despite several meetings of the trilateral dispute resolution committees, no progress was made. The Andhra Pradesh government filed a suit in the Supreme Court. [2]

Krishna river water sharing dispute

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana continue to dispute the water share of the Krishna River. In 1969, the Bachawat tribunal for the allocation of water shares among the riparian states allocated 811 tmcft of water to Andhra Pradesh. The Andhra Pradesh government of that time split it in a 512:299 tmcft ratio between Andhra Pradesh (including the basin area of Rayalaseema) and Telangana, respectively. It was based on the utilisation facilities established at that time. Though the tribunal recommended the use of the Tungabhadra Dam (a part of the Krishna Basin) to provide water to the drought-prone Mahabubnagar area of Telangana, this was not implemented. The bifurcation act advised the formation of the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) and the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) for resolving disputes between the new states. In 2015, the two states agreed to share water in the 66:34 (AP:Telangana) ratio as an interim arrangement in a meeting with the central water ministry, which is to be reviewed every year. This practice continued without further review. Telangana filed a suit in the Supreme Court for a 70% share. Following the assurance of the formation of a tribunal to resolve the issue, Telangana withdrew its suit. The centre formulated the terms of reference for KWDT-2 in Oct 2023. [3] [4]

Godavari water sharing dispute

Andhra Pradesh got 1172.78 tmcft of Godavari water. Telangana is utilising 433 tmcft for its completed projects, while Andhra Pradesh's share is 739 tmcft. The Andhra Pradesh government has opposed Telangana submitting a detailed project report for additional utilisation through new or upgraded projects such as Kaleswaram, Tupakulagudem, Sitarama, Mukteswaram, and Modikunta lift irrigation projects. [5]

Five villages near Bhadrachalam

The 1.50-metre increase in the height of the Polavaram coffer dam to 44 metres raised the suspicion that it led to flooding of Bhadrachalam and nearby villages in Telangana along the Godavari river in 2022. Three mandals that were originally part of Andhra state were transferred back to Andhra Pradesh, excluding Bhadrachalam town, to support the Polavaram project, as those areas are likely to be submerged. Telangana would like to take back five villages on the river banks for ease of movement of its government machinery to provide rehabilitation support to its other villages beyond them, to which the Andhra Pradesh government is objecting. [6]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Godavari River</span> River in south-central India

The Godavari is India's second longest river after the Ganga River and drains the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakeshwar, Nashik, Maharashtra. It flows east for 1,465 kilometres (910 mi), draining the states of Maharashtra (48.6%), Telangana (18.8%), Andhra Pradesh (4.5%), Chhattisgarh (10.9%) and Odisha (5.7%). The river ultimately empties into the Bay of Bengal through an extensive network of distributaries. Measuring up to 312,812 km2 (120,777 sq mi), it forms one of the largest river basins in the Indian subcontinent, with only the Ganga and Indus rivers having a larger drainage basin. In terms of length, catchment area and discharge, the Godavari is the largest in peninsular India, and had been dubbed as the Dakshina Ganga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Godavari district</span> District of Andhra Pradesh in India

The West Godavari district is a coastal district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh with an administrative headquarters in Bhimavaram. As of the 2011 Census of India, the district has an area of 2,178 km2 (841 sq mi) and a population of 1,779,935. It is bounded by the Krishna district and Bay of Bengal to the south, East Godavari district to the east, and Eluru district, Kolleru Lake and Upputeru Drain to the northwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sriram Sagar Project</span> Dam in Telangana, India

The Sriram Sagar Project is also known as the Pochampadu Project is an Indian flood-flow project on the Godavari. The Project is located in Nizamabad district, 3 km away from National Highway 44. It has been described by The Hindu as a "lifeline for a large part of Telangana".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khammam district</span> District of Telangana in India


Khammam district is a district in the eastern region of the Indian state of Telangana. The city of Khammam is the district headquarters. The district shares boundaries with Suryapet, Mahabubabad, Bhadradri districts and with Eluru and NTR districts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal</span> Indian tribunal

Government of India constituted a common tribunal on 10 April 1969 to adjudicate the river water utilization disputes among the river basin states of Krishna and Godavari rivers under the provisions of Interstate River Water Disputes Act – 1956. The common tribunal was headed by Sri RS Bachawat as its chairman with Sri DM Bhandari and Sri DM Sen as its members. Krishna River basin states Maharashtra, Karnataka and old Andhra Pradesh insisted on the quicker verdict as it had become more expedient for the construction of irrigation projects in Krishna basin. So the proceedings of Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT) were taken up first separately and its final verdict was submitted to GoI on 27 May 1976.

The Babli project / barrage is a controversial reservoir project being constructed by Maharashtra across the river Godavari, disputed by Telangana. The Supreme Court of India delivered a ruling after seven years in favour of Maharashtra with the Andhra Pradesh government expected to appeal against it.

Budameru is a rivulet in Krishna district which originates in the hills surrounding Mylavaram and empties itself into Kolleru Lake. Budameru is also known as The Sorrow of Vijayawada. In order to control the floods, the river was dammed at Velagaleru village and a diversion channel named, Budameru Diversion Channel (BDC) was constructed from Velagaleru to join Krishna River upstream of Prakasam Barrage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vamsadhara River</span> River in India

River Vamsadhara or River Banshadhara is an important east flowing river between Rushikulya and Godavari, in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh states in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polavaram Project</span> Dam in Eluru district, Andhra Pradesh, India

The Polavaram Project is an under construction multi-purpose irrigation project on the Godavari River in the Eluru District and East Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh. The project has been accorded National project status by the Central Government of India. Its reservoir back water spreads up to the Dummugudem Anicut and approx 115 km on Sabari River side. Thus back water spreads into parts of Chhattisgarh and Odisha States. It gives major boost to tourism sector in Godavari Districts as the reservoir covers the famous Papikonda National Park, Polavaram hydro electric project (HEP) and National Waterway 4 are under construction on left side of the river. It is located 40 km to the upstream of Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage in Rajamahendravaram City and 25 km from Rajahmundry Airport.

The Pranahita Chevella Lift Irrigation Project is a lift irrigation project to harness the water of Pranahita tributary of Godavari River for use in the Telangana state of India. The river water diversion barrage across the Pranahita River is located at Thammidihatti village in Komaram Bheem district of Telangana. This lift canal is an inter river basin transfer link by feeding Godavari River water to Krishna River basin. The chief ministers of Telangana and Maharashtra states reached an agreement in 2016 to limit the full reservoir level (FRL) of the barrage at 148 m msl with 1.85 tmcft storage capacity. In the year 2016, this project is divided into two parts. The scheme with diversion canal from the Thammmidihatti barrage to connect to existing Yellampalli reservoir across the Godavari River is presently called Pranahita barrage lift irrigation project. This scheme is confined to providing irrigation facility to nearly 2,00,000 acres in Adilabad district using 44 tmcft water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rajiv Dummugudem Lift Irrigation Scheme</span>

Rajiv Dummugudem Lift Irrigation Scheme is a lift irrigation scheme under execution which are located near Dummugudem, Khammam district in Telangana, India. There are three lift irrigation schemes by names Rajiv Dummugudem lift irrigation scheme, Indirasagar Rudrammakota Dummugudem lift irrigation scheme and Dummugudem to Sagar tail pond canal project. Rajiv Dummugudem lift irrigation scheme starting at 17°54′05″N80°52′45″E is planned to supply irrigation water for 200,000 acres in Khammam and Warangal districts drawing Godavari River water from the Dummugudem pond. Indira Dummugudem lift irrigation scheme starting at 17°33′49″N81°14′49″E is planned to supply irrigation water for 200,000 acres in Khammam, Krishna and West Godavari districts drawing Godavari River water from the back waters of Polavaram reservoir.

Icchampally Project was a multi-purpose project proposed in 2008, with hydro electricity generation, irrigation, flood control, etc. benefits on the River Godavari in India. This project is proposed as joint project of Telangana, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh states.

"Rajaolibanda Diversion Scheme" or "RDS" is an irrigation project located across River Tungabhadra in Jogulamba Gadwal district of Telangana, Kurnool district of Andhra pradesh and Raichur district of Karnataka. It is an inter-state barrage on the Tungabhadra river to supply water to Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states. The full reservoir level of this project is 332.32 m MSL.

Handri-Neeva Sujala Sravanthi project is the longest water canal project in the region of Rayalaseema, Andhra Pradesh, India. The project was conceived to provide a reliable irrigation and drinking water supply for the region through drawing flood waters from the Srisailam reservoir.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nagarjuna Sagar tail pond</span> Reservoir in India

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The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014, commonly known as the Telangana Act, is an Act of Indian Parliament that split the state of Andhra Pradesh into Telangana and the residuary Andhra Pradesh state, as an outcome of the Telangana movement. The Act defined the boundaries of the two states, determined how the assets and liabilities were to be divided, and laid out the status of Hyderabad as the permanent capital of new Telangana state and temporary capital of the Andhra Pradesh state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. Vidyasagar Rao</span> Indian politician

Ramaraju Vidyasagar Rao was an Indian government administrator and a Telangana activist. He was the Chief Engineer of the Ministry of Water Resources, Central Water Commission. After the formation of Telangana State, he was appointed as the Advisor on Irrigation to the Government of Telangana. He was the foremost expert on irrigation projects in Telangana, and was instrumental in highlighting injustices in water allocation for Telangana Region in United Andhra Pradesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Project</span> Dam in Between Godavari River and Polavaram Project

Pattiseema Lift Irrigation Project is a river interlinking project which connects Godavari River to Krishna River. This project has thereby become the first of such irrigation type projects in the country to be completed in time without any budget enhancements. It also holds a record in Limca Book of Records. The project was Inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Nara Chandrababu Naidu in March 2016 while the project was completed in one year record of time.

Jogulamba Barrage is a proposed barrage across Krishna River with full pond level (FPL) 274m. It would be located at Veltoor village, Peddamandadi mandal, Wanaparthy district, Telangana, India. This barrage is proposed to divert 3 TMC of water via lift to Yedula Reservoir being built as part of Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme. This would also provide water for Dindi Lift Irrigation Project and Mahatma Gandhi Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigation Scheme.

References

  1. ↑ M, Rajeev (2024-07-06). "Chandrababu Naidu, Revanth Reddy vow to take concrete steps to resolve pending bifurcation issues". The Hindu . Retrieved 2024-07-14.
  2. ↑ "Explained : The stalemate between Telangana and AP". The Hindu. 10 January 2023. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  3. ↑ "Cabinet approves terms of reference of Krishna water tribunal for Andhra, Telangana". Economic Times. 4 October 2023. Archived from the original on 2 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  4. ↑ "Explained : The Telangana- Andhra Pradesh water dispute". The Hindu. 23 May 2023. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  5. ↑ "Andhra Pradesh objects to Telangana's project on Godavari river". TOI. 30 January 2023. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  6. ↑ "Explained : Dispute between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh over flooding of Bhadrachalam". The Hindu. 20 June 2022. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
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