HYDERABAD: Concerned over resumption of work by Maharashtra on the Babli project across Godavari, the Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to file yet another interim petition before the Supreme Court on Monday seeking stoppage of work.

The Government on Friday briefed a team of advocates dealing with the case on the strategy, as work had resumed in spite of orders from the Union Government to keep it on hold.

The petition would cite 53 meetings or exchanges of correspondence between State Government, Central Water Commission/Union Water Resources Ministry with Maharashtra.

Major Irrigation Minister P. Lakshmaiah told The Hindu that the petition would reiterate Andhra Pradesh's stand that construction of Babli dam was in violation of the inter-state agreements signed by Maharashtra that paved way for construction of Sriramsagar Project.

It would state that Babli overlapped into the Sriramsagar reservoir and that it would affect the inflows to the latter.

Original petition

Although located in Maharashtra, the project site belonged to Andhra Pradesh as it had paid proper compensation for the lands it acquired in Maharashtra for the Sriramsagar project reservoir.

Incidentally, the original petition filed by Andhra Pradesh in the apex court against Maharashtra for going ahead with the project despite the CWC order and the understanding reached between the Chief Ministers of two States at the Union Water Resources Minister to maintain status quo, was posted for hearing during the second week of May.

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