The states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have agreed to hand over the management of the Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar projects to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB). In a meeting held in Hyderabad, the Engineers in Chief of both states agreed on this decision but had disagreements regarding the management of the hydroelectric projects.
Telangana argued that the Srisailam project was sanctioned for hydroelectric purposes and should have a Minimum Draw Down Level (MDDL) of +830 ft. However, they agreed to hand over the operation of the projects to KRMB for now. The Engineers in Chief also mentioned that out of the 15 projects under KRMB, nine are in Telangana and the rest are in Andhra Pradesh.
The meeting concluded that AP would receive 2 TMC of water from the left main canal and 3 TMC from the right main canal in March, with 5 TMC already allocated for April. Telangana stated that they have raised their concerns with the Jala Shakti ministry and are awaiting a response. They also clarified that security at the project level would be taken care of by KRMB.
It is important to note that handing over the projects only involves the operation and release of water. KRMB has requested a staff ratio of 40:45 between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
