KRMB panel meet fails to arrive at consensus on water-sharing

The Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) panel, consisting of three members, comprising the Member-Secretary of the board and Engineers-in-Chief from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, convened on Friday. The meeting aimed to decide on water-sharing proportions for 2026-27, influenced by El Nino conditions. However, neither Andhra Pradesh (AP) nor Telangana was willing to compromise on their positions.

AP has been advocating for the ad hoc sharing arrangement of 66:34 since 2015, despite Telangana's demand for a 50% share since 2020. Similarly, Telangana has consistently insisted on its 50% share. Following the failure of two consecutive meetings, a fourth meeting has been scheduled for the latter part of the month. The KRMB is now planning a comprehensive meeting to resolve the impasse, involving Secretaries of both governments along with the Engineers-in-Chief and others.

The ongoing dispute revolves around accusations of unauthorized water extraction from the Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar reservoirs, common storage facilities for both states. Initially, the KRMB had proposed 47 tmc ft of water each for AP and Telangana for drinking requirements until October-end, as water was primarily meant for drinking needs due to low inflows.

On September 4, Srisailam received 213.6 tmc ft of water from June 1, while Nagarjunasagar received only 93.1 tmc ft, including water released from Srisailam for hydroelectric generation. The Engineers-in-Chief of both states expressed disagreement, with AP-ENC K. Narasimha Murthy alleging that Telangana was releasing water from Srisailam for hydel generation, despite no demand for power, thus affecting AP's water draw.

In response, Telangana's ENC, O.V. Ramesh Babu, argued that AP had already drawn a significant volume of water from Srisailam, surpassing the agreed 22 tmc ft till October-end, and also exceeded the water draw for other purposes.