KRMB allocates 31 tmc ft water for drinking needs in AP, Telangana till Aug 15

KRMB allocates 21 tmc ft water to Telangana and 10 tmc ft to Andhra Pradesh for drinking needs till August 15.

Hyderabad: The Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) on Tuesday allocated 21 tmc ft of water to Telangana and 10 tmc ft to Andhra Pradesh to meet drinking water requirements from the Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar reservoirs till August 15.

The decision was taken during a meeting of a three-member committee comprising Telangana Engineer-in-Chief OV Ramesh Babu, Andhra Pradesh Engineer-in-Chief K Narasimha Murthy, and KRMB member-secretary Satish Kamboj. The committee reviewed water availability in the two common reservoirs before approving the allocations for the summer season.

Under the allocation, Telangana will be allowed to utilise the entire 5.7 tmc ft of drawable water available at the Srisailam reservoir until the water level reaches 810 feet. In addition, the state will receive 18.21 tmc ft of water from Nagarjunasagar reservoir after Andhra Pradesh utilises its allotted share of 10 tmc ft.

Andhra Pradesh had earlier submitted an indent on April 29 seeking 10 tmc ft of water from Nagarjunasagar for drinking water needs till the end of May. Telangana, in its request dated May 2, sought 18 tmc ft of water — 13 tmc ft from Nagarjunasagar and 5 tmc ft from Srisailam — to meet drinking water requirements till June 30.

Subsequently, Telangana requested an additional 16 tmc ft from Nagarjunasagar till August 15 for drinking water supply to Hyderabad city and the districts of Nalgonda, Suryapet, and Khammam.

Telangana opposes any fresh allocation to AP

During the meeting, Telangana opposed any fresh allocation to Andhra Pradesh, arguing that the neighbouring state had already utilised more water than its annual allocation from the Krishna river.

Telangana officials maintained that any additional release to Andhra Pradesh could lead to a drinking water shortage in the state during the peak summer months.

Despite these objections, the committee approved Andhra Pradesh’s request while assuring Telangana access to all the drawable water available at Srisailam and its allocated share from Nagarjunasagar.

As of Tuesday evening, the gross storage at Srisailam reservoir stood at 39.2 tmc ft, while Nagarjunasagar reservoir had 157.6 tmc ft of water available.

KRMB meeting on May 14

Meanwhile, the 21st meeting of the Krishna River Management Board is scheduled to be held on May 14. The board is expected to discuss key issues, including water utilisation by both states during the 2026–27 water year, installation of telemetry equipment, and other pending matters related to river water management.

The meeting will be attended by the KRMB chairman, board members, irrigation and water resources secretaries, and senior engineers from both states.