Two boards to oversee water, power sectors after division.... HYDERABAD: Worried that the issues of water sharing and power supply might become a major bone of contention between Telangana and residuary Andhra Pradesh, the Union home ministry is eliciting opinions from senior officials to explore the creation of two independent boards under the direct supervision of the central government to jointly oversee the irrigation and electricity sectors in both the states. According to sources, during their recent interaction with Union officials, chief secretary PK Mohanty, energy special chief secretary M Sahoo and others brought to the notice of the Centre that water release from Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar is being regulated by the irrigation department and any conflict with power generation from these projects would result in a major showdown between the two new states. Release of water from these two projects is controlled by the irrigation department. While the irrigation department focuses on releasing the water depending on the need of the farmers and the crop season, the power department would want water to be released whenever there is a shortage so that more power can be generated. In united Andhra Pradesh, whenever there is a power shortage, the energy department puts in a request to the irrigation department and the latter releases the water as per the requirement of the power department. But once two states are created, there will be a major conflict over the power and water needs between Telangana and Seemandhra, said an official. At present, based on the storage level, water from Srisailam is released on different occasions to KC Kanal, Pothireddypadu and Nagarjunsagar. The release dates are based on the crop season and the requirement of the different areas and they are standardised in the irrigation manual. The release dates often lead to tensions in these districts and political leaders tend to exert pressure on the irrigation engineers to force the water release to their areas. Post-bifurcation, water release dates would become controversial during deficit years as every district agitates for water release overriding the later requirement of the other districts. Till now, we have boards to look after the distribution of the stored waters. But post bifurcation, we would need a joint board at Srisailam and Nagarjunsagar to supervise the distribution of surplus and flood waters as well, said sources in irrigation department. Keeping this in mind, the Centre is mulling creation of a central board for sharing water for drinking and irrigation purposes between the two states on the lines of what is in place for Cauvery and Bhakranangal. A detailed note is being prepared on the creation of such central boards, the sources said. A similar complex problem exists on the power front as well. For example, the coal for power generation at the Vijayawada and Rayalaseema thermal projects in the Seemandhra region are being supplied by the Singareni Collieries in Telangana. For the hydel projects across Andhra Pradesh, the water comes from the Telangana region. And for all gas based projects in the state, the gas is supplied from the Godavari basin. This will make the distribution of power between the two new states a complex, messy and unwieldy affair, pointed a senior official. At present, the power distribution is being done in such a manner that it is balanced between the power-deficit Telangana and surplus Seemandhra regions. Post-bifurcation, the supply has to be maintained in a way that it would safeguard the grid frequency which may not be that easy keeping in mind the conflicting demands of the two new states, the sources said. To monitor the power supply in an effective manner to protect the southern grid, there should be a central power board with officials from the Centre and the two new states to ensure that the power supply is equally shared between Telangana and Seemandhra and also make sure that the southern grid does not trip, they said.TOI
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 05:33:09 +0000
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