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Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal

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The Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal (KWDT), headed by Justice R.S. Bachawat, was constituted in April 1969 for adjudication of inter-state water dispute regarding the sharing of Krishna waters. The KWDT gave its award in 1973, and it was published in 1976. As per this award, 75% dependable flow of the Krishna water at Vijaywada was assessed as 2060 TMC (58,339 Mm3).

 

Allocation of Krishna water by KWDT among three states

State

Allocation in TMC

Allocation in Mm3

Maharashtra

560

15,859

Karnataka

700

19,824

Andhra Pradesh

800

22,656

Total

2060

58,339

 The KWDT addressed three issues:

  • the extent to which the existing uses should be protected as opposed to future or contemplated uses;

  • diversion of water to another watershed; and

  • rules governing the preferential uses of water. The tribunal relied on the principle of equitable apportionment for allocation of water.

 

About the first issue, KWDT decided that projects that were in operation or under consideration as in September 1960 should be preferred to contemplated uses and should be protected. It also directed that except by special consent of the parties, a project committed after 1960 should not be entitled to any priority over contemplated uses. Regarding the second issue, the tribunal decided that diversion of the Krishna water was legal when water was diverted to areas outside the river basin but within the political boundaries of the riparian states. It was silent regarding the diversion of water to areas of non-riparian states. As for the third issue, KWDT concluded that all existing uses based on diversion of water outside the basin would receive protection.

 

After deliberating over the issue, KWDT passed the following order:

  • That the States of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh will be free to use ground water within their respective sites in the Krishna basin. The use of underground water by any State shall not be reckoned as use of the water of the Krishna River.

  • That the waters of the Krishna River be allocated to the three States of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh for their beneficial use

  • The states are not permitted to use in any water year more than the specified quantity of water of the Krishna River.

 

In addition, liberty was given to Andhra Pradesh to use in any water year any excess flows that may be available without conferring any right whatsoever in the matter. The Tribunal allowed the States to utilize their allocated share of water for any project as per their plans.

  • Beneficial use shall include any use of the water of the Krishna River by any State for domestic, municipal, irrigation, industrial, hydropower generation, navigation, pisciculture, wildlife protection and recreation purposes.

  • Evaporation losses from reservoirs of projects using 85 Mm3 or more annually shall be excluded in computing the 10% figure of the average annual utilizations mentioned in selected sub-clauses of the order.

  • The depletion of the waters of the Krishna River in any manner whatsoever, including losses of water by evaporation and other natural causes from man-made reservoirs and other works. Without deducting in the case of use for irrigation the quantity of water may return after such use to the river.

 

The uses of water shall be measured in the manner indicated below:

 

Domestic and municipal water supply: 20% of the quantity of water diverted or lifted from the river or any of its tributaries or from any reservoir, storage or canal.

 

Industrial Use: 2.5% of the quantity of water diverted or lifted from the river or any of its tributaries or from any reservoir, storage or canal.

           

            Recently, the Government of India has constituted the Second Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal.

 

THE ALMATTI DAM DISPUTE

The Almatti dam is part of the Upper Krishna Project, a joint venture of the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra.  Karnataka planned the Upper Krishna project (consisting of reservoirs at Almatti and Narayanpur) to use 4897 Mm3 (173 TMC) of water in two stages: 3,369 Mm3 (119 TMC) in the first stage and 1528 Mm3 (54 TMC) in the second stage.  Narayanpur reservoir has been completed but the construction of the Almatti dam was under dispute. The Bacchawat Tribunal (the Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal) stated that Karnataka had proposed to complete the Almatti dam in the second stage of the project, without specifying the exact full height.  The Central Water Commission had given clearance to build the Almatti dam to a height of 519 m in the first stage.  However the Karnataka government interpreted the Bacchawat award to mean the full height of the project as it had proposed.  This envisaged a final full reservoir level of 524.25 m. The problem of Almatti pertains to the storage of what Andhra Pradesh believes to be an excessive quantity of water into the Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar reservoirs and the Krishna barrage at Vijayawada which sustains the main rice bowl of Andhra Pradesh.

 

In the case of Almatti, the height of the dam or its storage capacity has been the issue of dispute. The proposed 524.25 m high Almatti dam can hold 6,429 Mm3 of water whereas the allocation for the entire Upper Krishna Project was 4,899 Mm3. The argument of Karnataka that it will use the extra 54 TMC feet (1,529 Mm3) of water to generate power is not convicting to Andhra Pradesh because this water can irrigate 540,000 acres of land. Andhra Pradesh feels that Karnataka will delay flows to Andhra Pradesh in a normal year by detaining more water at the dam.

 

In 1996, the then Prime Minister appointed a committee of four ministers to resolve the dispute. They constituted an expert committee in 1997 who opined that the stage had not reached for Karnataka to go in for a higher storage capacity and that the full reservoir level be kept at 518.7 m in the second stage. The group suggested that it was not necessary for Karnataka to build a bigger storage.  In July 1998, the case was referred to a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court. Here, the major issues were the interpretation of Article 262 of the constitution and Section 11 of the Inter State Water Disputes Act-1956. Karnataka sought the apex court's directions in regard to distribution and allocation of surplus water of the Krishna River. But Andhra Pradesh demanded to restrain Karnataka from raising the height of the Almatti dam from 519 m to 524 m and certain other relief.