Chief Justice NV Ramana on Monday chose to opt out of the dispute between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over the sharing of river Krishna waters on legal issues. He said he belongs to both states and urged the two state governments to go for mediation.
“I don’t want to hear this matter legally. I belong to both the states. If the matter can be settled in mediation, please do that. We can help with that. Otherwise I will transfer this to another Bench,” Chief Justice Ramana said.
Andhra Pradesh last month moved the Supreme Court over the Krishna River dispute, alleging the Telangana government had deprived it of its legitimate share of water for drinking and irrigation purposes. The petition claimed the Telangana government refused to follow the decisions taken by the Apex Council constituted under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014, the directions of Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) formed under this Act, and the Centre’s directives.
The petition said the fundamental rights including right to life of the people living in Andhra Pradesh was “seriously impaired and infringed” up on as they were being deprived of their “legitimate share of water” due to “unconstitutional, illegal and unjust” acts of the Telangana government and its officials. “The present petition is being moved because the state of Telangana is refusing to follow decisions taken in the Apex Council constituted under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014, directions of KRMB, and directions of government of India,” it said.
It added, “This has caused immense hardship for people of Andhra Pradesh as availability of water has been seriously prejudiced by depletion in Srisailam Dam project as well as other projects such as the Nagarjuna Sagar Project and the Pulichintala Project.” The petition claimed that the actions of the Telangana government are unconstitutional and in violation of right to life. The petition urged the SC to direct the Centre to take control of the common reservoirs of Srisailam, Nagarjunasagar and also Pulichintala reservoirs along with all their outlets and operate the same as per the rules in vogue as per the binding award.
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