Centre notifies jurisdiction of Krishna, Godavari river boards

The Ministry of Jal Shakti through Gazette Notification on Friday notified the jurisdiction of Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) and Krishna River Management Board (KRMB), which provides more teeth to the two Boards in terms of administration, regulation, operation, and maintenance of projects listed therein in Godavari and Krishna rivers in the two States.

According to a press release, this step is expected to reduce friction between the two states in the area of water management.

The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014 (APRA) contains provisions for the effective management of river waters in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

These provisions include the constitution of the Godavari and Krishna River Management Boards and the constitution of an Apex Council for the supervision of the functioning of these Boards.

The Central Government in the exercise of the powers conferred under Section 85 of the APRA, 2014, constituted the two River Management Boards effective from June 2, 2014, for the administration, regulation, maintenance, and operation of such projects on Godavari and Krishna rivers, as may be notified by the Central Government from time to time.

There has been a divergence between the two states on the issue of notification of the jurisdiction of the Boards by the Centre. This was addressed in the second meeting of the Apex Council held in October 2020, under the Chairmanship of Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister of Jal Shakti with the Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and the Telangana States. In this meeting, it was decided that the jurisdiction of GRMB and KRMB will be notified by the Government of India.

In accordance with the provisions under Section 87 of APRA, 2014, the Government of India has issued two Gazette notifications, one for the jurisdiction of GRMB and the other for KRMB, for administration, regulation, maintenance, and operation of projects in Godavari and Krishna river basins respectively, in the States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The notification states that the Boards shall ordinarily exercise jurisdiction on Godavari and Krishna rivers in regard to any of the projects over headworks (barrages, dams, reservoirs, regulating structures), part of the canal network, and transmission lines as specified in Schedule-1, Schedule-2 and Schedule-3 to the notification.

This decision of the Union Government for notifying the jurisdiction of two Boards would go a long way in enabling the River Boards to discharge their responsibilities to the fullest as mandated in the APRA, 2014 and bring about the much-needed neutrality on water resources matters between the two States.

( With inputs from ANI )