KRMB meet put off, AP for new office

AP government says officers are busy gearing up for cyclone

The Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) meeting scheduled to be held on Tuesday to discuss water allocations to Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for the new water year set to begin on June 1, has been postponed at the last minute.

The KRMB on Monday announced the meeting was postponed following the request of the Andhra Pradesh government and the fresh date would be notified later.

It said that the AP government sought postponement of the meeting on the grounds of officials being engaged in Yaas cyclone relief measures and Polavaram project works due to which they could not attend the meeting. The meeting will be held in virtual mode in view of Covid second wave and lockdown in both the states.

The KRMB last met on March 9 in virtual mode but the meeting ended

● THE KRISHNA RIVER Management Board office is likely to be shifted from Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam.

abruptly due to technical glitches in video conferencing. Official sources said the KRBM had included the issue of AP and TS not releasing funds to the board in time to meet its administrative costs in the agenda of the meeting.

As per the agreement, both the states have to bear the expenditure equally. The amount will be utilised for payment of salaries to staff, installing telemetry devices at irrigation projects to gauge the consumption of water by both the states accurately to avoid disputes over water sharing besides meeting day-today administrative expenses.

The board wants to seek Rs 18 crore for the new water year. Last year, the board sought Rs 8 crore, but only the Telangana government released its share of `4 crore. Sources said the AP government owed dues for the last two years. The KRMB office is likely to be shifted from Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam. As per AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, the office of Goda-vari River Management Board (GRMB) should be located in Telangana and KRMB in AP. However, the KRMB continues to function from Hyderabad so far and the AP government is strongly demanding to shift the KRMB office to Visakhapatnam immediately.