Krishna water dispute: AP govt mulls moving SC against Maharashtra, Karnataka

Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh government is contemplating a legal battle against the Maharashtra and Karnataka governments for denying the "rightful share" of Krishna river water to the state.

"We are consulting legal experts to file either a special leave petition or a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court against Maharashtra and Karnataka for withholding water in river Krishna and depriving the lower riparian state of its rightful share. They are not releasing water even as a humanitarian gesture," AP Water Resources Minister DU Rao said in Amaravati on Monday evening.

He said, thanks to copious rains, reservoirs on river Krishna in Maharashtra and Karnataka were filled to the brim.

"Both these states have a total of 275 tmc ft of water stored in their reservoirs, but they are not letting out even one tmc ft to lower riparian states like Telangana and AP. Taking cover under tribunals, those states are fully utilising the water," Rao alleged.

"Even on humanitarian grounds, Maharashtra and Karnataka are not releasing water to meet even the drinking water needs of Telangana and AP. We have already complained about it to Union water resources minister Uma Bharti. Now, we are contemplating a legal fight to get our due share of water," the minister added.