In the wake of a dispute between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over sharing of water and electricity, Telangana Irrigation Minister T Harish Rao met Union Water Resource Minister Uma Bharati here today.
The meeting comes days after the Krishna River Management Board, whose chairperson is the Union Water Resource Minister, ordered Telangana to utilise only three tmc ft of water from Srisailam reservoir for power generation till November 2.
According to Telangana Special Representative at New Delhi Ramachandru Naik, who was present in the meeting, the question of stopping power generation does not arise as the order of the board has not mentioned that power generation should be stopped after November 2.
After the meeting with Bharati, Harish Rao said that power generation was essential to provide electricity for 20 lakh pumpsets to supply water for crops in the state.
He also charged that the Government of Andhra Pradesh has not shared the power that Telangana was entitled to.
The current dispute between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh is about sharing of electricity from the Srisailam project.
Andhra Pradesh wants Telangana to stop power generation, because continued power generation would lead to problems in supply of drinking water in the Rayalaseema region.
However, Telangana has refused to stop power generation to cater to power requirements of farmers in the state.
The Krishna River Management Board on October 31 issued an order directing Telangana government to utilise only 3 tmc ft of water from Srisailam reservoir for power generation at the Left Power House till November 2.
The Board was set up as a sequel to a provision of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act by which Telangana state was carved out of Andhra Pradesh.
