Question : TRIBUNAL FOR SHARING OF KRISHNA RIVER WATER

(a) whether the Government of Andhra Pradesh has submitted a petition to the Union Government seeking constitution of a tribunal to regulate the sharing of Krishna river water; and

(b) if so, the details thereof and the action taken thereon?

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES (SMT. BIJOYA CHAKRAVARTY)

(a) & (b) : The State of Andhra Pradesh has submitted a complaint under Section 3 of the Inter-State River Water Disputes(ISRWD) Act, 1956 to the Central Government on January 20, 2003 stating that water disputes with regard to use, distribution and control of the waters of the Inter-State river Krishna have arisen between the riparian States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. As per the complaint, the interest of the State of Andhra Pradesh and its inhabitants have been, and/or are likely to be, prejudicially affected by various acts of commission and omission of the States of Maharashtra and Karnataka such as unauthorized construction of the Almatti Dam, wrongful utilisation of waters of Tungabhadra river and from the Tungabhadra dam and violations of the award in the Bheema sub-basin. In the complaint, the State of Andhra Pradesh has requested for constitution a water disputes tribunal under Section 4(1) of the ISRWD Act, 1956 for adjudication and decision of the dispute emerging from the letter of complaint. As per Section 3 of the ISRWD Act, 1956 the Central Government is required to form an opinion that water dispute cannot be settled by negotiations, and thereafter within a period of not exceeding one year from the date of receipt of the request, is required to constitute a water dispute tribunal for adjudication of the water dispute.