SC advises mediation to AP, Telangana for settling Krishna water sharing dispute

The Supreme Court Monday suggested "mediation" to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for settling their dispute over sharing of Krishna river water, saying it did not want to interfere "unnecessarily".

A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana was hearing the plea of Andhra Pradesh which has alleged that the Telangana has deprived it of its legitimate share of drinking and irrigation water.

''I don't want to hear this matter legally. I belong to both 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,'' the CJI, who hails from Andhra Pradesh, observed during the hearing.

''I wish that both of you (lawyers representing the two states) convince your governments and settle the matter. We do not want to interfere unnecessarily,'' said the CJI who was heading the bench also comprising Justice Surya Kant.

Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for Andhra Pradesh along with lawyer Mahfooz Ahsan Nazki, sought time for seeking instruction.

The bench then kept the plea for further consideration on Wednesday and senior advocate C S Vaidyanathan, appearing for Telangana, agreed to this.

In July, the Andhra Pradesh government had moved the top court claiming that the Telangana government refused to follow the decisions taken by the Apex Council constituted under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014, the directions of Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) formed under this Act, and the Centre's directives.

The petition said the fundamental rights including the right to life of the people living in Andhra Pradesh was ''seriously impaired and infringed'' upon as they were being deprived of their ''legitimate share of water'' due to ''unconstitutional, illegal and unjust'' acts of the Telangana government and its officials.

''The present petition is being moved because the state of Telangana is refusing to follow decisions taken in the Apex Council constituted under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014, directions of KRMB, and directions of government of India,'' it said.

''This has caused immense hardship for people of Andhra Pradesh as availability of water has been seriously prejudiced by depletion in Srisailam Dam project as well as other projects such as the Nagarjuna Sagar Project and the Pulichintala Project,'' it added.

The petition urged the top court to direct the Centre to take control of the common reservoirs of Srisailam, Nagarjunasagar, and also Pulichintala reservoirs along with all their outlets and operate them as per the rules in vogue as per the binding award. If necessary, with the help of police protection, operate both the common reservoirs of Srisailam, Nagarjunasagar, and also Pulichintala reservoir without causing prejudice to Andhra Pradesh, it urged.

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