HYDERABAD: The State will be divided into five basins and the level of utilisation of water available in each basin for irrigation, power generation and fishing will be decided and monitored by a Basin Authority headed by an engineer-in-chief.

The basin authorities will be autonomous bodies with an ultimate say over the water anywhere in their jurisdiction. A Water Regulatory Commission will be set up as ombudsman on the lines of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission to attend to the complaints by those aggrieved by the decisions of the basin authorities.

Five basins

The five basins are Upper Godavari, Lower Godavari, Upper Krishna, Lower Krishna and Pennar. The Godavari and Krishna rivers have been divided into two basins each in view of their long course in the State, each 1,200 km. All water bodies in a basin, be it rivulet or a tank, will be controlled by the basin authority along with the projects on them.

The water issues as a whole, however, will be dealt at Government level by a Water Council headed by the Chief Minister. Major Irrigation Minister will be its convener.

YSR's approval

These are some of the features of the State's first water policy proposed by the Irrigation Department. The Chief Minister wanted such a policy since there are conflicting claims by regions over the projects under execution as part of Jalayagam. An official said Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy had approved of the proposals.

Before being announced, the proposals will be referred to a Cabinet sub-committee consisting of the Ministers holding water-connected portfolios.

No excess use

Sources said the policy aims at providing quality water to fields, and avoiding wastage by undertaking "water audit". All rain-gauge stations and water testing labs, now functioning under different departments, will be integrated to assess the availability and ensure quality.

Farmers will be asked not to use water in excess of the need. Consumption will be metered and punishments awarded for excess use. The policy tries to increase the crop area covered by one TMC of water beyond 10,000 acres.

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