THE chief justice of the Supreme Court of India has decided against hearing a dispute between two southern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over the sharing of waters of River Krishna owing to the fact that he “belongs to both states”. He urged the two neighbours to go for mediation instead to address the matter.
Chief justice NV Ramana on Monday (2) said he would not hear the dispute and hinted at opting out of the case.
“I don’t want to hear this matter legally. I belong to both the states. If the matter can be settled in mediation, please do that. We can help with that. Otherwise, I will transfer this to another Bench,” he said.
The 63-year-old Ramana, who was born in Ponnavaram in Andhra Pradesh, urged the states to settle the matter conveniently and the apex court doesn’t want to “interfere unnecessarily”. Ramana was recently given a grand welcome by the governments of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh after he visited them for the first time since taking up as the chief justice in April.
The Supreme Court was set to take up the case on Wednesday (4).
Andhra accuses Telangana of drawing more water
Andhra Pradesh has accused Telangana, which was carved out of it in 2014, of drawing water from the Krishna River indiscriminately for its power requirements to violate a 2015 agreement.
It requested the top court for directions to the Union ministry of Jal Shakti (hydel power) to take control of reservoirs in Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar and Pulitchintala that are common to both states. It has alleged that irrigation in its downstream region has suffered irreparable damage because of Telangana’s drawing water from these reservoirs.
Two major South Indian rivers – Krishna and Godavari – flow through Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and the water-sharing has caused a serious friction between them since the bifurcation of Andhra.
River water-sharing has always been a contentious issue between southern states of India. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu often lock horns over the sharing of the water of Kaveri River and the issue has serious repercussions in both states – political and otherwise.
At the core of the latest dispute between Andhra and Telangana is the Srisailam dam on the border separating the two states.
There are a total of six dams on the Krishna river and a temporary agreement says its waters have to be shared between Telangana and Andhra in the ratio of 34:66. But Andhra Pradesh has accused Telangana of drawing more water for power generation.
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