THE STATES

For a new tribunal

RAVI SHARMA

ALL three States through which the river Krishna flows - Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh - have approached the Union government to constitute a tribunal similiar to the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT), which will apportion the Krishna river waters. In 1973 and 1976, the KWDT went into the allocation of the river's waters and under what is known as the `Bachawat Award', Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra are entitled, under Scheme A, to 811, 734 and 585 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft) of water respectively in any water year on the basis of 75 per cent dependability flows.

The Tribunal, which was constituted under the Inter-State Water Disputes (ISWD) Act of 1956, also ruled that unused waters as of May 2000 would come up for reallocation along with any surplus waters (under Scheme B) and that Andhra Pradesh be permitted to use the unutilised waters - with the proviso that it shall not acquire any right whatsoever over and above its share of 811 tmc ft of water.

Further, the KWDT indicated in its report that after May 2000 Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra would be eligible for specified proportions of water depending on the flow over and above the 75 per cent dependability yield. Under this scheme, called Scheme B, Karnataka is entitled to 50 per cent of the flows, while the other two States would share (not equally) the remaining waters.

Although the KWDT felt that Scheme B provided for a fuller and better utilisation of the Krishna waters, it did not make this scheme a part of its decision since the ISWD Act as it stood then did not empower it to constitute an authority to implement Scheme B. (However, amendments effected to the ISWD Act in 1980 facilitate the constitution of such an authority by the Government of India.) In effect, unlike Scheme A, which was binding on the three States, Scheme B is dependent on consent among the States.

In April 2000, during arguments in the Almatti dam case, Karnataka asked the Supreme Court to direct the Central government to notify Scheme B of the Bachawat Award and to make provisions for establishing a Krishna Valley Authority, which would oversee the implementation of Scheme B. The court ruled that since Scheme B was not a "decision" of the KWDT it was not enforceable under the relevant portions of the ISWD Act. The court ruled that if any of the riparian States made a complaint over the sharing of the river's waters the Central government could refer the dispute to a tribunal constituted under the provisions of the ISWD Act.

While Karnataka is still not in a position to utilise even 600 tmc ft of water 26 years after the Award was gazetted, thanks to the lackadaisical attitude of successive governments, especially those of the Congress(I), Andhra Pradesh had put in place infrastructure to utilise around 80 per cent of its allotted share of 811 tmc ft by 1973 itself, when the KWDT gave its award. Andhra Pradesh is now staking a claim not only for a larger share of the surplus waters but also for a part of the portions unutilised by Maharashtra and Karnataka from their share of the water. Karnataka has consistently accused Andhra Pradesh of wanting to establish a right over the surplus waters by creating infrastructure.

Said a senior irrigation official: "Andhra Pradesh's reservoirs have been built to accommodate a large portion of the surplus waters. The Nagarjunasagar can hold the entire flood waters of the Krishna. Work on projects like the Telugu Ganga and the Srisailam right and left bank canals were started before permission from the Central authorities was obtained. The Telugu Ganga, the Srisailam left and right bank canals, the Bhima Lift Irrigation and the Pulichintala diversion are designed to utilise around 330 tmc ft of the surplus waters. Chandrababu Naidu is afraid that if water doesn't flow in the oversized canals that have been built at huge cost he will lose votes. That is why he is making all this noise over Karnataka's irrigation projects in the Krishna basin."

In Karnataka, the threat that any unutilised water would be pooled along with the surplus waters has resulted in increased funding for Krishna basin projects in the last decade. The aim is to utilise fully and establish a right over its share of 734 tmc ft. The storing of water to a Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 519.6 m at the Almatti dam across the Krishna is a step taken with this in mind, and Karnataka hopes that it can eventually store water up to the 524.256-m FRL mark.

All three riparian States were slow to request the Centre to constitute another tribunal to decide the allocation of surplus waters. Maharashtra, which is able to tap the water first as the upper riparian State, and Andhra Pradesh, which is using water far in excess of its share under Scheme A, may not have been keen on the formation of a tribunal, and it was up to Karnataka to set the ball rolling. The main reason Karnataka was also slow in asking for the constitution of a tribunal was that it is yet to commit projects for its entire 734 tmc ft of water. While Karnataka sought the constitution of a tribunal last September, Maharashtra did so in February and Andhra Pradesh in April.

The new tribunal will adjudicate on the Scheme B to be formulated (for the excess waters) and probably review Scheme A. Karnataka has stated that it would oppose any move to renegotiate Scheme A, since it will not be in its interest to lose out on any unutilised waters. Said Chief Minister Krishna: "Scheme A is a closed chapter. We oppose any move to reopen it. Our letter to the Centre seeking the constitution of a tribunal is clear on our stand." But as Bhavani Shankar, a former Chief Engineer of the Narmada Project, said: "Karnataka, and to a lesser extent Maharashtra, would be in unenviable positions if the new tribunal decides that utilisation is not just storage but what is used in irrigation. That could cook Karnataka's goose. And Andhra Pradesh could end up by far the sole beneficiary."

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