Harish credits KCR for KWDT orders favouring state

Hyderabad: Former irrigation minister and senior BRS leader T. Harish Rao said the orders issued by the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II (KWDT-II) would protect Telangana’s water rights, and were a testament to the then Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao’s decade-long efforts fight against injustice from the Central government.

In a statement issued on Friday, Harish Rao expressed satisfaction with the interim orders issued by the Brijesh Kumar-led KWDT-II. According to the Tribunal order, the Krishna River water should be shared between Telangana and AP according to Section 3 of the 1956 Interstate River Water Disputes Act.

Harish Rao criticised the Congress government for attempting to claim these achievements as its own, alleging that it was the Congress-led Centre that had initially introduced the problematic Section 89 in the AP Reorganisation Act, which resulted in an ongoing tussle with Andhra Pradesh.

“The persistent arguments by KCR before the Tribunal significantly improved Telangana’s prospects. Our government went to the Supreme Court in 2015 to ensure its share in Krishna waters and continued to press for an allocation of 575 tmc ft of water until the tribunal’s verdict. The terms of reference (TOR) given by the Central government to the tribunal in October 2023 under Section 3 was an outcome of these persistent demands,” Harish Rao explained. The BRS leader said the state government must continue to fight for a permanent solution to the water distribution under Section 3 while also seeking an interim increase in water allocation by 50 per cent. “Telangana’s rights must be vigorously defended through expert legal advocacy in upcoming Tribunal hearings,” he said.