Many experts are expressing concern over the negligent view of the Andhra Pradesh government to make strong arguments to safeguard its rights to use surplus water in the Krishna water sharing dispute. The Telangana government frequently makes complaints in the KRMB and before the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal on every project undertaken by AP.
There is criticism that the AP government, which has already filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the tribunal’s verdict, is not paying attention towards appointing lawyers and making strong arguments accordingly. The term of the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal ends in July this year. The tribunal has expedited the hearing as it has to hear the arguments of the two states and finalize the distribution.
On the other hand, the Telangana government has formed a team of six eminent lawyers to present arguments in the tribunal and the Supreme Court and issued a GO in November 2024.
At the same time, Adityanath Das, who served as an irrigation officer for a long time in the United state, was appointed as the irrigation advisor. With this, he is making strong arguments on behalf of Telangana before the tribunal. He also recently filed a complaint against the newly brought Bakanacharla link.
Brijesh Kumar In the context of the expiry of the tribunal’s term, lawyers are expected to appear to argue on behalf of AP, strongly refuting the arguments already being made by Telangana. Consultations should be held with the government on water issues from time to time.
What is Telangana’s argument? Officials should constantly talk to lawyers about the government’s opinion on the issue of what to say on behalf of AP. The lawyers should be explained on issues such as the rights and powers of AP in the use of water. There is no record of such a thing happening so far.
If the arguments are not heard properly in the tribunal, they say that they will lose the rights to use the surplus water, and there is a risk of losing Krishna waters until 2050, and serious difficulties will arise.
Irrigation expert Tunga Lakshminarayana said that a council with lawyers should be immediately formed to hear the arguments before the KRMB and Brijesh Kumar Tribunal on the Krishna water issue. He said that the approach taken by the AP government in this regard is unfair.
He criticized that previous governments used to form committees and hold discussions, but now they are not even appointing lawyers. He feared that if the government fails to move forward in this manner, it will be a great injustice to the state.