Hyderabad: Telangana and Andhra Pradesh reached a consensus on four key water-sharing issues during a high-level meeting convened by the Centre in Delhi on Wednesday.
The meeting, which was aimed at resolving long-standing water disputes between the two states, was attended by Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N. Chandrababu Naidu and Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil. Telangana’s irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, and his AP counterpart Nimmala Rama Naidu were also present.
Addressing the media after the meeting, Revanth Reddy described the agreements reached as a significant victory for Telangana, pointing out that Andhra Pradesh had consented to four crucial measures such as installing telemetry systems at all major irrigation projects and reservoirs to monitor Krishna water usage.
Additionally, Andhra Pradesh agreed to repair the Srisailam dam, and to establish the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) office in Hyderabad and the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) office in Amaravati.
The meeting also saw the formation of a high-level committee comprising senior officers and technical experts from both states, alongside officials from the Union Jal Shakti ministry. This committee will be tasked with addressing all pending water-sharing issues between the two states, particularly focusing on irrigation projects in both the Krishna and Godavari river basins. Revanth Reddy said the committee would work on creating a comprehensive roadmap for resolving water disputes, with discussions to be held in future meetings convened by the Centre.
One of the most significant outcomes of the meeting was the resolution on the Krishna river’s water usage, with the telemetry system intended to measure and monitor the exact water usage by both states. Telangana had raised concerns over Andhra Pradesh allegedly drawing more water than its allocated share from the Krishna River. The installation of telemetry devices, which Telangana will fully fund, is expected to provide accurate data, preventing misuse and ensuring compliance with water-sharing agreements.
The Chief Minister also highlighted that Telangana had successfully kept the Banakacharla project, a controversial project by Andhra Pradesh, off the table during the talks. “The issue of Banakacharla did not come up in the discussions. So there was no question of demanding the AP government to stop the project,” Revanth Reddy stated. He reaffirmed that Telangana had already lodged a formal complaint with the Centre regarding Banakacharla and would continue to oppose it through all available channels.
Revanth Reddy said the meeting was not an “Apex Council meeting” but an informal meeting convened by Centre to facilitate dialogue and understanding between the states. The formal decisions, including the final water-sharing agreements, would be discussed in a future Apex Council meeting once the expert committee submits its roadmap.
Uttam Kumar Reddy, who also addressed the media, stated that the committee would aim to resolve the issues within a month of its formation. He said the safety of the Srisailam dam also came up for discussion.
The Centre made it clear that Andhra Pradesh, being responsible for maintaining the dam, must immediately address all required repairs, especially in light of safety concerns raised by experts. Uttam Kumar Reddy stressed the urgency of rehabilitating the dam’s plunge pool, which has shown signs of deterioration.
Both states agreed on the need for greater transparency in water management and the importance of using data-driven systems to prevent disputes in the future. The installation of telemetry devices at the Krishna river’s offtake points in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh will be a critical step toward ensuring fairness in water allocation, Uttam said.
Revanth Reddy and Uttam Kumar Reddy stated that the discussions were held in a cordial atmosphere. Revanth Reddy came down heavily on former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, accusing him of compromising Telangana’s water rights in favour of Andhra Pradesh. He asserted that his government was working to rectify the mistakes made during the BRS regime, stressing that these new agreements marked a victory for Telangana.
