The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Babli: Central Water Commission viewpoint favours Maharashtra

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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Babli: Central Water Commission viewpoint favours Maharashtra

M. Malleswara Rao

CWC: Maharashtra well within its right in constructing the 11 barrages
Supreme Court is already seized of the matter

HYDERABAD: Is Andhra Pradesh fighting a losing battle against Maharashtra in preventing the neighbouring State from constructing 11 barrages across the Godavari?

This appears to be the case in the wake of an indication given by the Central Water Commission (CWC) to the Andhra Pradesh government that its protests against these barrages, being built upstream of the controversial Babli project, are unnecessary. The CWC gave its opinion after conducting surveys following a dispute between the States.

Highly-placed sources in the government told this correspondent here on Friday that the CWC had conveyed its opinion to officials of the inter-State wing of the Irrigation Department that “Maharashtra is well within its right in constructing the 11 barrages”.

Maharashtra proposes to use 7.2 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) of water, well inside its allocation of 60 tmcft in the sub-basin made by the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal, by building these barrages. The 11 barrages are, Amdura (Bandra), Digras, Muli, Mudgal, Dhalegaon, Loni Sawangi, Raja Takli, Mangrul, Jogla Devi, Hirvopuro and Apegaon.

The State government now has the option of approaching the Supreme Court. But, it is unlikely that it will raise this issue and, thereby, complicate matters, since the apex court is already seized of the Babli dispute. It apprehends that if it does so, the Supreme Court may constitute a new tribunal for fresh distribution of the Godavari waters among the riparian States and, by the time the tribunal finalises its report, Maharashtra might complete construction of all the 11 barrages. Information received by the government, in the meanwhile, indicated that Maharashtra was executing only ancillary works of the project, suspending the work on the main dam, in view of high water level in the river. However, crest-gates were being fabricated.

Heavy inflows

The entire nine lakh acres of ayacut under Sriramsagar project was left fallow during this year’s kharif due to negligible inflows. However, as the project received heavy inflows after the kharif season, the government is planning to release water for rabi from December 1.

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