The Hindu : Karnataka News : Charges of Andhra Pradesh far from truth, says Kharge

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka

Charges of Andhra Pradesh far from truth, says Kharge

Special Correspondent

BANGALORE: The State Government has termed as "far from the truth" Andhra Pradesh's charge that it was creating hurdles for the latter's irrigation projects in the Krishna river basin. It was in fact Andhra Pradesh which was raking up disputes by executing "illegal" projects.

Addressing presspersons here on Tuesday, the Minister for Water Resources and Transport, Mallikarjuna Kharge, said there would have been no irrigation disputes at all had Andhra Pradesh utilised the water allocated by the Bachawat Tribunal.

He said a representative of the State Government would place all issues with regard to the sharing of waters under Krishna `B' scheme and "illegal" projects being executed by Andhra Pradesh before the second Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal, which is meeting on May 19.

Reacting to the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy's statement, he said an impartial view of the projects executed by the State and Andhra Pradesh would show who violated the Tribunal award.

"When the State is yet to use its share of water, the question of using surplus water does not arise," he said and ruled out the State entering into talks with Andhra Pradesh to resolve the water-sharing dispute.

Contrary to the Bachawat Award, Andhra Pradesh had been building reservoirs and dams without clearance from the Centre and drawing excess water thereby depriving the State of its share.

Andhra Pradesh was also constructing big dams without clearance from the Centre in order to stake its claim under the "B" scheme of the Bachawat Award. Mr. Kharge said that Andhra Pradesh had built projects to garner a higher quantum of water under Scheme B of the Bachawat Award as a pre-emptive measure.

The State had a strong case for getting the illegal projects in Andhra Pradesh stalled, he said.

Rajori Banda

Rejecting Andhra Pradesh's claim that the State will utilise higher quantum of water for the power generation project proposed at Rajori Banda nala, he said the water used for power generation would flow back into the neighbouring State.

Work on the Rajori Banda minor hydel power project near Manvi was stopped on account of the political tactics employed by Andhra Pradesh, he alleged. In 2002, the then Chief Minister, S. M. Krishna, had given the nod to the project aimed at generating 4.5 MW of power.

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