Tribunal gives biggest share of Krishna water to Andhra

NEW DELHI: The Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal on Thursday announced a water-sharing formula to end the 43 years of conflict among three states — Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka.

According to tribunal’s formula for sharing the waters of river Krishna till 2050, Andhra Pradesh will get the largest share. It also increased the allocation for Karnataka and Maharashtra. Every year, Andhra will be entitled to 1,001 tmc (thousand million cubic feet), Karnataka will get 911 tmc and Maharashtra 666 tmc.

The tribunal’s decision has come as a big victory for Karnataka as it allows the height of the Almatti dam to be raised. Karnataka has been raising the issue for long, but was facing stiff opposition from Andhra Pradesh.

The tribunal, headed by Justice Brijesh Kumar, also allowed more water to be stored in the Almatti dam in Karnataka. With this order, 524 metre of the dam height could be used to store the Krishna water from its earlier 519 metre. “The award has vindicated the stand of Karnataka. Finally, we have got the justice,” said Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa in Bangalore.

But the award did not offer much comfort to Maharashtra. “The height of Almatti dam has been allowed to be increased from the current level of 519.6 metre to 524.25 metre. We wanted the height to be reduced to below 519 metre because we had the unfortunate incident of flooding in Sangli a few years back. So, we are disappointed with this particular aspect,” said Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan in Mumbai.

Irrigation experts and opposition parties in Andhra Pradesh said the award was shocking as the state will have to be at the mercy of upper riparian state Karnataka. They said the award was a big blow as Andhra Pradesh has lost total right over the utilisation of surplus water.

The three-member tribunal, headed by former Supreme Court judge Brijesh Kumar, also provided for creation of a Krishna Waters Decision-Implementation Board to monitor the implementation of the award.