Projects on Krishna basin
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Krishna Basin The catchment area in Telangana is 51,628 square kms and catchment in Andhra is 23,741 square kms. But the water allocation for Telangana is 266.83 TMC feet of water, whereas the Andhra gets 500.15 TMC feet of water as show in percentages. The bar chart below shows clearly the catchment area, cultivable land and irrigated area on Krishna Basin.
PROJECTS: Tungabadra:This
project was first planned in 1948 near Hosepet as a joint venture of
erstwhile Hyderabad State and Mysore State. Left canal of this
project was planned to utilize about 100 TMC ft of water to irrigate
lands in Raichur and
Mahaboobnagar. Rajolibunda Diversion Scheme:
This project was started to irrigate 93,000 acres in then
Raichoor district of the then Hyderabad State utilizing 17 TMC feet
of water. It was started by the Hyderabad State and completed by
1956. Subsequent to the reorganization of states, 5900 acres ayacut
fell within Karnataka State and remaining ayacut of 87000 acres fell
within Andhra Pradesh State. The Chief Engineers of Karnataka and
Andra Pradesh agreed for full supply discharge of 850 cusecs at head
and 770 cusecs at the border point between Karnataka State and
Andhra Pradesh State in 1959. Krishna water dispute
tribunal allotted 1.20 TMC feet of water out of 17 TMC feet of water
to Karnataka State ayacut and the remaining 15.90 TMC feet of water
to the ayacut in Andhra Pradesh State in 1980. It also gave
directions that out of the 17.10 TMC feet of water allotted, 7 TMC
feet of water would be in the shape of regulated discharge from
Thungabhadra project in the lean months from January to May.
Karnataka does not release even half the required flow to ryots of
Gadwal and Alampoor taluqs of Andhra Pradesh State, despite a
specific direction from the tribunal. The Andhra Pradesh did not
show any interest to take up the issue with
Karnataka. The entire Mahaboobnagar
district is drought affected, except for Mahaboobnagar taluq. The
entire district lies in Krishna basin and it is at the head of the
basin in the state. The present irrigation is confined to minor
irrigation projects, a few medium projects and one existing major
project namely Rajolibunda Diversion Scheme across the Tungabhadra
river. The
Bachawath tribunal had allotted 17.1 TMC feet of water to
Rajolibunda Diversion Scheme: 1.20 TMC feet of water to Karnataka
and 15.9 TMC feet of water to Mahaboobnagar district. But in reality
only 5 to 6 TMC of water is available for Mahaboobnagar district,
though the availability of water from Tungabhadra is almost 15.90
TMC. Telangana region is deprived due to clandestine and
unauthorized and illegal diversion of 6 to 7 TMC of water, with the
tacit knowledge of the official. Bheema Project: The
Bheema project envisages the use of 20 TMC feet of Krishna waters
for irrigating 2 lakh acres in the drought affected and upland areas
of Makthal, Atmakur, Wanaparthy and Kollapur taluqs of Mahaboobnagar
district. Alternatively the water
can be lifted form the Bheema River or Krishna River just below its
confluence with the Bheema River and stored in the proposed
balancing reservoir at Makthal to irrigate the areas.
Andhra Pradesh State
committed in its note APPK 36 to take up a project across Krishna
river five miles upstream of Gadwal meter gauge railway bridge with
a gross storage of 33 TMC feet water and storage of 16 TMC feet
water under stage I.
The irrigation would be flow irrigation of about 1.05 lakhs
acres, and stage II could be a lift scheme to irrigate about 1.80
lakhs acres. The tribunal allotted 17.64 TMC feet of water to the
project and work is taken up under stage I named Jurala Project in
1981. The water is yet to be made available to extensive areas of
ayacut proposed. Nagarjunsagar Project:
Nagarjuna Sagar project was taken up as a joint project
between the then Andhra State and the then Hyderabad State in 1954.
On the basis of the agreement the project was to be jointly executed
with left canal to serve 7.95 lakh acres in Nalgonda and Khammam
districts with 161 TMC feet of water as its share. Around 2 lakhs
acres of lands in Andhra State limits were also to be served from
the left canal. This joint project report was protected under
section 108 (2a) of S.R. Act. With the reorganization of
states and the merging of Telangana with Andhra, the Andhra State
became sole authority to execute the project. The bed levels of left
main canal were indiscriminately dropped. It was made to pass
through existing minor and medium tanks by dropping the bed level of
canal and picked up at a lower level. With the result the identified
ayacut in Nalgonda and Khammam districts was reduced from 7.95 lakhs
acres to 5.30 lakh acres including existing ayacut of around 50,000
acres under Paleru Project and other minor irrigation sources. On
the other hand the ayacut in Andhra region under left canal was
increased from the originally contemplated ayacut of 2.05 lakh acres
to 3.78 lakh acres. As a result of this
manipulation in the ayacut of left canal, the ayacut in Telangana
utilizes only 86 TMC feet of water including around 6 TMC feet of
water for independent yield of Paleru project, Devulapally and other
minor tanks. The Nagarjuna sagar supplies only 80 TMC feet of water
to Telangana ayacut under left canal, against its entitlement of 161
TMC feet of water, under 1954 agreement.
This is a violation of
1954 agreement and violation of the rights of Telangana Protected
under section 108(2) (a) of SR act. The left canal alignment is
manipulated so badly that it is not possible to make available the
balance water from left canal. After power generation,
water from Srisailam reservoir flows to Nagarjuna Sagar project. The
balance water from left canal quota of Nagarjuna Sagar is 127 TMC
feet of water. The 127 TMC feet of water has to be supplied from
Srisailam reservoir through a tunnel to irrigate areas in Nalgonda
and Khammam districts. The project under the left
bank canal utilizing 30 TMC feet of water under Bheema lift
irrigation is still not implemented. In addition to the existing
deprivations, the Government of Andhra Pradesh is seriously
contemplating to bring Krishna waters to Hyderabad city, which will
further deplete the water available for irrigation in Telangana
region. Srisailam Left Bank Canal: Left canal
runs for a length of 178 kilometers to irrigate 419,820 acres in
Nalgonda, Khammam, Krishna and west
Godavari. Srisailam Left Bank Canal
is the third project of Telangana on Krishna that became a victim of
Andhra Pradesh government maneuvering. Krishna
water dispute tribunal allocated 800 TMC feet of water to Andhra
Pradesh State. The three state governments, Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka and Maharastra, put forward further demands against
possible surplus flows over and above agreed. The Tribunal allowed
Andhra Pradesh to buildup surplus capacities to store water and
utilize it with out any specific right over the other states of
Karnataka and Maharastra. The government of Andhra Pradesh submitted
plans to utilize the surplus water of Krishna as
under. I.Krishna delta
65.00
TMC 2. Nagarjuna sagar
42.00
TMC 3. Jurala Irrigation
Scheme Stage II
28.00
TMC 4. Sangameswar canals
40.90
TMC 5. Srisailam Left Bank
canal
150.00
TMC 6. Nagarjuna Sagar Project
Stage II
203.00
TMC Total
..
529.10 TMC An expert committee of
Senior Engineers was constituted by Andhra Pradesh State in 1981 to
suggest ways and means for maximum utilization of water allocated by
Krishna water Disputes Tribunal. Crest gates were installed
in both Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam and water is being utilized.
By installing crest gates to R.L. +590 and with M.D.D.L. at +510 at
Nagarjuna Sagar an additional carry over capacity of 120 TMC feet of
water is created. Similarly at Srisailam with crest gates at R.L.
885 and MDDL at +830 an additional carry over capacity of 60 TMC
feet of water is created. The Experts committee was of the opinion,
that the average carry over capacity at Srisailam is 81.6 TMC feet
of water and at Nagarjuna Sagar is 167.78 TMC feet of water. With
power generation permitted up to +800, another 100 TMC feet of water
would be available totaling to about 81.63+67.78+100=349.11 TMC feet
of water. Based on the above
estimation of water availability the Government took up Telugu Ganga
and Srisailam right branch canal to irrigate extensive areas in
Cuddapah, Kurnool, Prakasam, Nellore and Chittoor districts
utilizing around 350 TMC feet of water, incurring around Rs. 3200
crores in the last the 18 years. Srisailam left bank canal
was to be supplied water through a tunnel from Srisailam reservoir,
as suggested by experts committee and agreed to by A.P. government.
A committee was setup to study environmental impact to damn the
tunnel. The committee came out with a recommendation that
environmental impact could be avoided with a slight shift in
alignment and it would avoid forest area as well. The report also
suggested that the tunnel is the best
option. The planning commission
cleared the Srisailam right branch canal, part of Sangameswara
canals to utilize 19 TMC of surplus flows in May 1981. The State
government also cleared other projects. 1. Srisailam left branch
canal (Telugu Ganga ) with extension up to Sagileru river to
irrigate 1.11 lakh hectares requiring 29 TMC feet of
water. 2. Srisailam Left Bank
Canal (SLBC) in Nalgonda district to irrigate around 1.20 lakh
hectares utilizing 30 TMC feet of
water. The cost aspect as
indicated in plan papers in 1984, is more favorable to Srisailam
left bank canal. The
tunnel’s estimated cost was Rs. 353 Crores utilizing 30 TMC feet of
water. It was much cheaper than Srisailam left branch canal (Telugu
Ganga) costing Rs. 637 crores for utilizing 29 TMCft and Srisailam
right branch canal costing Rs. 221 crores utilizing only 19 TMC feet
of water. The Andhra Pradesh
government appears to have a hidden agenda and it is understood that
it has a preconceived notion to block tunnel option, in spite of its
overwhelming positive features. Otherwise how else would it
discourage tunnel option on left bank of Srisailam, while it
aggressively pursuing it on right side of Srisailam to feed ayacut
of Valigodu reservoirs. Finally the government
decided to dump tunnel option in 1995 and instead supply water to
the ayacut on Srisailam Left Bank by pumping from Nagarjuna Sagar.
The government proposed to install 4 pumps of 19 MW each to irrigate
60,000 hectares in first crop and another 49,000 hectares in second
crop. The actual irrigation as per the affidavit submitted, with the
pumps running 24 hours does not exceed 97,000 hectares. But actually
its capacity would not be more than 67,758 hectares, utilizing
around 28.74 TMC feet of water against allotment 50TMC feet of
water. The ayacut restricted to 67,758 hectares against earlier
recommendation of 1,21,000 hectares. Two
issues: 1. Is it possible to
supply 76MW of firm power during October, November and December? The
statements emanating from both the corporation and government
indicate that the supply of power for more than (9) hours a day is
not possible. In that event the ayacut gets further reduced to
around 25,000 hectares. The intended flushing out of fluoride from
the areas and water supply to villages along the canal including
Nalgonda town would remain a dream
unfulfilled. 2. The running cost of the
scheme works out to around Rs. 3230- per hectare at Rs.1 per unit of
electricity. If the tariff is linked to cost of production of
electricity the cost per hectare may be around Rs.8000. Will the
farmers be able to pay such huge costs of power supply?. Why should
they pay for such faulty and mischievous formulation of the scheme?
The water intended for Nalgonda would flow down stream for
development of some more ayacut in the Andhra region and Nalgonda
district would remain drought prone
perpetually. The dishonesty of the
government is further evident from the fact that Telugu Ganga and
Srisailam right branch canal simultaneously started with Srisailam
Left Bank Canal, are under execution, while Srisailam Left Bank
Canal remains a dream. The expenditure on Telugu Ganga and Srisailam
right branch canal is Rs. 1500 crores whereas Srisailam left bank
canal estimated to cost around Rs. 150 crores.
Dishonesty is evident from
the fact, that the pumping scheme is opted by the state, in spite of
unequivocal recommendation by the experts committee and later by the
environmental impact Assessment committee favoring tunnel.
Obviously, the government knows fully well that the pumping scheme
is not viable and opted for it, so as to dump it later and divert
water so saved from this scheme to lower reaches to benefit Andhra
region. As a result of
discrimination since merger of Telangana with the erstwhile Andhra
State in 1956 is back to 7.21 lakh hectares in 1996 -97, compared to
9 lakhs hectares under irrigation in 1956. The irrigation content as
percentage of shown area also, slumped from 18.90% in 1956 to 17.60%
in 1996 - 97. This was not the sort of balanced development of all
the regions of the state contemplated in article 371 (D) - 1 of the
constitution. It shows how government ignored the needs of a
particular region. It is in violation of all accepted norms of
governance, conventions, and agreements between different regions of
a state under the constitutional provisions.
While considering the
Rajolibunda Diversion Scheme Right Bank Canal for the utilization of
flood flows, it may be necessary first to ensure adequate designed
discharge into the Left Bank Canal by raising the crest level of the
ayacut to irrigate the full contemplated ayacut of 87,000 acres.
Nandikonda -
Nagarjunasagar Project Contemplated
Andhra region
Telangana region Originally to
irrigate
2.33 lakh acres
7.9 lakh acres
(under right canal)
(through left canal)
Reduced to 6.1 lakh acres Now under Irrigation
13.00
lakh acres
Under irrigation 1.1 lakh acres.
Bureaucratic institutions
created hurdles to delay the approvals at various levels at
different stages. While negotiating irrigation projects in backward
areas / region, the state delayed the sanction of allocated budget
till last minute so that the funds could be diverted to favored
regions. Also the trend in favor of coastal Andhra is evident in
spending extra budgetary funds, early completion of projects,
modernization of projects, regular and repeated drainage and flood
control works, constructing balancing reservoirs, doubly ensured
that irrigation projects are completed early in Andhra
area. Gadwal Branch Canal: Thungabhadra low
level canal was to irrigate 80,000 hectares in Gadwal and
AlampurTaluqs of Raichur district in Hyderabad state. Due to
reorganization of states in 1956, the two taluqs Gadwal and Alampoor
became part of Mahaboobnagar district of Andhra Pradesh. The Chief
Engineer of Thungabhadra wrote to the Chief Engineer Andhra in
September 1956, stating that for the cropping pattern for the scheme
approved by the Hyderabad State for 580,000 acres including
10,000acres of second crop paddy. The total quantity of
utilizable water was estimated to be about 80 TMC feet of water out
of 100 TMC of water allotted to Hyderabad in 1951. He added that it
had been further decided that the balance quantity of water should
be utilized in the lower reaches lying in the Telangana
region. The Karnataka State
misguided the Krishna water disputes tribunal stating that there was
no administrative sanction from Gadwal branch canal beyond Mile 141
and the Andhra Pradesh State accepted the result. The tribunal ruled that the
claim for water to Gadwal beyond 141 miles is not sustainable. The
tribunal or the state of Andhra Pradesh did not ask Karnataka State
whether there was administrative sanction separately for the branch
canal from Mile 127 of main canal to KM 141.00 of Gadwal branch
canal. Mahaboobnagar district
also lost substantially in two other projects, around 25 TMC ft in
upper Krishna, 50 TMC ft in Bheema project plans, which were in
advanced stage of formulation, before reorganization of states took
its toll. The result was that Mahaboobnagar district remained
drought prone and poorest district in Andhra Pradesh state, with
percentage of irrigation recording as low as 4.61% of its shown area
in 1996 -97, in spite of the fact that three big rivers Krishna
Thungabadra and Bheema flowing through
it. Concerned with the plight
of the Mahaboobnagar district, the Krishna water dispute tribunal
allotted 17.84 TMC feet of water for Jurala project stage I to
irrigate around 42,000 hectares bordering Krishna river in
Mahaboobnagar district. Jurala Project Stage–1:
This project envisages irrigating scarcity areas in Taluqs
of Gadwal, Alampur and Wanaparthy in Mahboobnagar district. The
erstwhile Hyderabad State had taken up investigations of 1930 for
irrigating certain areas in Telangana region of the present
Mahboobnagar District along with areas in Karnataka region, which
merged with the Karnataka state after the states reorganization.
In
the 1st Stage there will be two canals :
(1) The Right
Bank canal will be about 17 miles along serving the areas of Gadwal
and Alampur Taluqs in Mahaboobnagar
district. (2) The left
Bank Canal which will be about 36 miles serving Taluqs of Atmakur
and Wanaparthy of Mahaboobnagar District. The total water
requirement in Stage-l for the Right and Left Bank Canals is 16.80
TMC feet of water. In second stage a pumping
scheme to irrigate around 80,000 hectares is not implemented in
spite of its commitment before the Krishna water dispute tribunal 30
years back in 1970. The government is not in a position to supply
power to agricultural connections even 9 hours a day. Therefore
there is no justification for pumping scheme specially in view of
the fact, that an attractive alternative diversion scheme from
adjacent Bheema river, where required flows are available. It would
be much cheaper in construction and operation than the pumping
scheme. Kalwakurthi Lift Irrigation
Scheme: This scheme was planned to lift the water at
Khollapur on upper Sreesailam project in 8 stages in Nagar Kurnool.
Kalwakurthi foundation stone was laid in 1990 and it has not seen
any progress since. The government proposed to revise the project to
lift water in three stages. The government was not interested to
implement it and postponing the project on some pretext or the
other. The local
leadership formed a group called: Kalwakurthi Jalasadha Samithi.
They approached the NRI / NGO'S who had offered to finance 1800
crores for this projects. But the government has expressed its
inability to accept the assistance on the ground that there is no
sufficient water to lift from Krishna.
Pulichinthala
Project: The implementation of this project will cause
damage and adversely affect the farmers of Telangana. The Government
is stating that it will supply additional water to left bank
Sreesailam project and Bheema. Under this project about 45.75 TMC
feet of water can be stored, which will irrigate only 2.7 lakh acres
in Telangana where as it irrigates 14.00 lakhs acres in Krishna
district. It is clear to see that this project will mostly benefit
the Krishna delta. The Government stated that
by implementing this project only about 15,000 people would be
affected in Nalgonda. But it is estimated that the project would
submerge large areas in many parts of Nalgonda district. There are
many questions lingering in the minds of Telangana people as to why
the govt. is so keen to implement this project on priority basis
when other projects in Telangana are not being implemented with the
same vigor. The High Court has issued
notices in a writ challenging the action of the government
proceeding with pulichintala project, without obtaining the
clearance of the Union Ministry of Environment. It obviously
indicates the haste by the Government in power to benefit the
farmers in the upland areas in Guntur and Prakasham Dist.
The biggest injustice ever
was done in the field of development and exploitation of water
resources, and utilization of water resources for irrigation and
drinking purposes from 3 rivers, Krishna, Godavari and Tungabhadra
flowing from Telangana. The biggest Nagarjunasagar
Dam is constructed in Nalgonda district, which actually became a
major source of irrigation in Krishna district. The Srisailam bank
left canal to provide water for parched canals in Telanagana
districts is still under implementation, whereas the right canal
which feeds land in Kurnool and Cuddapah and Anantapur Dist is
already completed and the downstream water from Srisailam Dam
benefits Krishna District.
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