According to persons acquainted with the situation on Wednesday, the Telangana administration has made the decision to submit a new case to the Supreme Court challenging Karnataka’s proposal to raise the Almatti Dam on the Krishna River.
Following the Karnataka cabinet’s decision on September 17 to raise the water level in the Almatti Dam from 519.6 metres to 524.25 metres, which jeopardises the supply of water for vital irrigation projects in Telangana, the decision was made following extensive consultations with legal experts. “There is already a case pending before the Supreme Court, filed by the erstwhile combined Andhra Pradesh government and Maharashtra, opposing the increase in the height of Almatti dam.”
“The Telangana government has now resolved to file a fresh interlocutory application (IA) to challenge Karnataka’s latest decisions related to the dam height,” an official from the state irrigation department said.
The official claims that the Karnataka government built the Almatti Dam to store water up to a height of 524.256 meters, with structural construction finished as early as 2002. However, in accordance with interim directives, the Supreme Court limited storage to 519.06 meters (129.72 TMC) in 2013.
Later, Karnataka claimed before the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal, presided over by Justice Brijesh Kumar, that since the building was finished, it would be pointless to not allocate water at full capacity. The tribunal agreed with Karnataka’s argument and kept the 173 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) allocation that the Bachawat Tribunal had previously suggested based on 75% water availability. Additionally, on November 29, 2013, Karnataka submitted its final report to the Centre, allowing it to impound water up to 524.256 meters in the Almatti dam.
The Supreme Court stayed the execution of the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal’s final ruling after the former governments of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra contested this final report. Telangana was added as a respondent in the same case following the division of Andhra Pradesh. The Karnataka cabinet resolved on September 17 of this year to impound water up to 524.256 meters in the Almatti dam, even though the case is still pending before the Supreme Court.
Additionally, it authorised a plan to purchase 75,663 acres of land and granted ₹70,000 crore for the rehabilitation and relocation of residents in 11 Bagalkot municipal wards and 20 villages that would be flooded if the dam was built to 524.256 meters. Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy called a high-level official meeting on September 21 in response to the Karnataka government’s decision, and he gave irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy and department officials instructions to take action against the proposal.
He gave the officials instructions to compile a thorough study on the negative effects Telangana will experience from the Almatti dam’s increased water storage and present it before the Supreme Court. “We will take the Karnataka government’s action to the Supreme Court. The impounding of further water in the Almatti dam is already on hold. The state irrigation minister stated, “Our government is committed to protecting the interests of the state and all necessary steps will be taken to prevent the Karnataka government move.” Vaidyanathan, a senior lawyer, has been appointed to argue in the highest court.