Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay is scheduled to meet Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu in Vijayawada on October 13 to discuss the release of Krishna water to Chennai and the proposed interlinking of rivers in southern India, according to a report by the Times of India citing highly placed sources.
The meeting is expected to focus on the proposed Godavari-Krishna-Cauvery link at Kattalai, as well as Andhra Pradesh’s pending supply of Krishna water to Tamil Nadu. The discussions come as Chennai continues to depend on arrangements involving multiple states and river systems for a portion of its water security.
The National Water Development Agency, under the Union Jal Shakti ministry, revised the detailed project report for the interlinking project in 2023 after Tamil Nadu requested that the link canal be taken to a higher contour near Manimukthanadhi, close to the Kattalai barrage. An official cited by the Times of India said the plan involved diverting 41 thousand million cubic feet of water from the Godavari to the inter-state border.
The NWDA has sent a draft memorandum of agreement to the southern states for implementing the interlinking project. However, consensus among the states has not yet been reached, according to the report. Tamil Nadu had sought central intervention to accelerate the consultations. In August, Vijay wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking that the Centre expedite the process and consider setting up a dedicated special-purpose vehicle for time-bound execution of the project.
The proposed meeting also comes amid Tamil Nadu’s continuing dispute with Karnataka over its share of Cauvery water. Tamil Nadu had received 46 thousand million cubic feet as of October 7, against the stipulated 128 thousand million cubic feet for the period at the inter-state border at Biligundulu, the report said. Although the Cauvery Water Management Authority directed Karnataka to release water at a rate of 4,000 cusecs for 15 days from September 25, average inflows remained unsatisfactory.
The Krishna water arrangement is governed by an inter-state agreement under which Andhra Pradesh is expected to provide Tamil Nadu with 12 thousand million cubic feet annually at the inter-state border. Of this, 8 thousand million cubic feet is to be supplied between July and October, and 4 thousand million cubic feet between January and April.
Tamil Nadu had received 2.251 thousand million cubic feet until October 9 this year, according to the report. The shortfall has added urgency to the proposed discussion, particularly because the Krishna supply is linked to Chennai’s wider water-sourcing system.
The previous meeting between a Tamil Nadu chief minister and Naidu on the issue took place in February 2017, when then chief minister O Panneerselvam sought the urgent release of Krishna water. The October 13 meeting is expected to determine whether the two states can make progress on the immediate release arrangement while continuing negotiations on the larger interlinking proposal.
