Union Cabinet approves terms of reference for Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal-II

New Delhi [India]: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the terms of reference to Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal-II under the Inter-State River Water Disputes (ISRWD) Act, 1956 for its adjudication between the States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Briefing reporters after a meeting of the Union Cabinet, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said, "The Union Cabinet has approved terms of reference to Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal-II in order to resolve the dispute between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh over the Krishna River water-sharing. Under this, the tribunal will distribute the Krishna water, which is allocated to the 'undivided' Andhra Pradesh, between the two states".

According to an official statement, the resolution of the dispute between the two States on the use, distribution or control of Krishna River waters will open new avenues of growth in both the States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II was constituted by the Central Government in 2004 on requests made by the party States under Section 3 of the ISRWD Act, 1956.

Subsequently, in 2014, Telangana, as a State of the Union of India, came into existence.
Subsequently, the Government of Telangana (GoT) forwarded a complaint to the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD & GR), Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS), Government of India, referring the dispute on the use, distribution or control of Krishna river waters.

A Writ Petition was also filed in the matter by the Telangana government in the Supreme Court (SC) in 2015.

In 2018, the GoT further requested DoWR, RD GR, and MoJS to refer the complaint to the existing KWDT-II by confining the scope of reference between the States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh only.

The matter was later discussed in the second Apex Council meeting in 2020 held under the Minister (Jal Shakti).

As discussed during the 2nd Apex Council meeting, GoT withdrew the said Writ Petition in 2021 and subsequently, the legal opinion of the Ministry of Law and Justice (MoL&J) was sought by DoWR, RD & GR in the matter.