Jal Shakti Minister calls meet with four states to discuss Krishna Tribunal award despite SC case pending
HYDERABAD: Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil convened a meeting of Irrigation Ministers of four states on May 7 to discuss the publication of the award of the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal 2 (Brijesh Kumar Tribunal).
'The Jal Shakti minister will chair a meeting with ministers of water resources of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to discuss on the report-cum-award of Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-2,' a communication received by the state officials from the Jal Shakti Ministry on Thursday said.
However, the Irrigation department officials were surprised to receive the letter as the matter was sub judice. AP and Telangana filed a case in the Supreme Court and the case hearings were still in progress.
Besides, the Union government gave a fresh terms of reference (ToR) to the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal over reallocation of 811 tmcft allocated to the combined AP by the Bachawat Tribunal. The cross examination before the Tribunal on the fresh ToR issued by the Jal Shakti Ministry was still continuing.
'We are expecting that the Central government may try to resolve the water disputes through consultation process and try to publish the Tribunal award in the gazette,' a senior official of Irrigation department told TNIE.
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