Hyderabad: In a significant victory for Telangana, the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT-II) on Thursday agreed to hear the arguments regarding water allocation between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh based on the new terms of reference (ToR) under Section 3 of the Interstate River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act, 1956.
Irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy welcomed the tribunal’s decision, stating that it would ensure justice for Telangana.
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He explained that the new ToR would include the earlier en bloc allocation of 811 tmc of water made by the Bachawat Tribunal, thus securing Telangana’s rightful share of Krishna river water.
The tribunal, after hearing arguments from both states, ruled that the matter would first be heard under the additional ToR, as these terms encompass the issue of water sharing, which could influence project-specific allocations under Section 89 of the Act. The tribunal also said that other related questions, such as the interpretation of ‘project-wise’ allocation, could impact the reference under section 89.
The order acknowledged that multiple factors were at play, and hearing the additional ToR first was deemed to be the most feasible course of action.
Until last year, water allocation between Telangana and AP was governed by Section 89 of the AP Reorganisation Act of 2014. Under this section, the KWDT-II was tasked with making project-specific allocations if they had not been previously defined by a tribunal and determining the operational protocol for water release in cases of deficit flows.
However, Telangana has argued that the ToR under Section 89 was restrictive and failed to ensure a fair distribution of water. “We contended that the existing project-wise allocations could not be altered under those terms, limiting the water available for redistribution,” the minister said.
Uttam pointed out that since the new ToR was issued to KWDT-II in Oct 2023, AP had repeatedly delayed the tribunal proceedings in order to postpone justice for Telangana. AP had argued that the tribunal should first consider the matter under the earlier ToR based on section 89 of Reorganisation Act before addressing the additional ToR. Telangana, however, insisted that the additional ToR should be prioritised as they superseded the earlier terms and directly addressed the issue of water sharing between the two states.
In 2015, the Telangana govt had approached the Supreme Court seeking the constitution of a new tribunal under section 3 of the ISRWD Act. However, Telangana withdrew the case after the Centre, during the Apex Council meeting on Oct 6, 2020, requested the state to do so. The Centre later agreed to seek legal opinions and consider the establishment of a new tribunal, ultimately approving the additional ToR in 2024.
