HUBLI: By taking its case before the new Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal, the State has exercised the only option available to it to prevent Andhra Pradesh from going ahead with projects in the Krishna basin designed to utilise the surplus waters before the quantum and allocation of the surplus among the various riparian States is determined.

One of the realities in the utilisation of Krishna waters is that Andhra Pradesh has always had an advantage over Karnataka. Andhra Pradesh, with better infrastructure and investment, was better placed to utilise the waters when the Bachawat Tribunal came out with its first report in 1973 and its second and final report three years later.

Andhra Pradesh was in an advantageous position when the Bachawat Tribunal gave its award allocating more than 800 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) as its share. The bulk of the water allocated had been utilised already. But that was not the case with Karnataka. It had a long way to go to meet the target and the Government of the day never realised that the timeframe of 25 years for utilisation of its share stipulated by the Bachawat Tribunal was too short for archiving a gigantic task.

Karnataka has not yet utilised the waters allocated to it under Scheme A of the Bachawat Award although the deadline expired five years ago. On the other hand, Andhra Pradesh has taken measures for the utilisation of the surplus waters in advance of the determination of the same.

Andhra Pradesh began taking measures to utilise the surplus waters in 1983-84. It planned the Telugu Ganga project, one of the 11 projects that are being executed without permission according to Karnataka, in 1984. The project was meant mainly to carry 15 tmcft of water given by the three riparian States to meet the drinking water needs of Chennai. Andhra Pradesh quietly expanded the scope and capacity of the project to make it one of main projects for the utilisation of surplus waters.

Karnataka only woke up in 1997 when it took up the issue, among others, in a petition filed before the Supreme Court, which, in a judgment three years later, asked the State to take the issue to the appropriate authority.

Karnataka then took up the issue with the Union Government. But the latter expressed its helplessness. The State approached the Supreme Court again only to get the same advice as before. The delay in the constitution of the second tribunal gave Andhra Pradesh free rein in the execution of projects in the Krishna basin, ignoring the objections raised by Karnataka.

No other way

With the Centre unwilling to act and the Supreme Court expressing its desire not to intervene in the matter, the State had no option but to move the tribunal.

Now that it has taken the long overdue step, the question is whether Karnataka will be able to get an interim stay to stop Andhra Pradesh from going ahead with the projects even at this stage.

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