Making a final decision on dividing the surplus water of River Krishna,the Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal today allocated the maximum share of water to Andhra Pradesh while also enhancing the share of Karnataka and Maharashtra. Now,Andhra Pradesh will get 1,001 TMC,Karnataka 911 TMC and Maharashtra 666 TMC of water from the river. Earlier allocation was 811 TMC for Andhra Pradesh,734 TMC for Karnataka and 585 TMC for Maharashtra. The Tribunal headed by Justice Brijesh Kumar also allowed more water to be stored in the Almati Dam in Karnataka. With this order,524 metres of the dam height could be used to store the Krishna water from its earlier 519 metres. The Centre will set up the Krishna Water Implementation Board after three months for implementation of the award. "The states who want to file a review or seek explanation on the award can do so within the next three months," Justice Kumar said. It is understood that the award will be valid by May 31,2050. Since the Tribunal has the force and decree of the Supreme Court,no appeal against the award can be filed in any other court except the tribunal itself. Reacting to the tribunal's decision,Maharashtra Water Resources Minister Ramrajya Nimbalkar told reporters,"No decision can be 100 per cent because no decision can give you 100 per cent of what you want." "Prima-facie our previous allocation was not reviewed. We have got 100 TMC more water and 25 TMC from Koyna Dam to be diverted. that is we are happy about". Nimbalkar said issues like water storage at the end of monsoon would be addressed through the committee that has been formed under the tribunal. Asked if he was unhappy as maximum water would go to Andhra Pradesh,he said,"Some water has to be given to lower riparian states. We cannot possibly say 100 per cent water should be given to one state,even though we expected more. Certain things may be against us but overall we are happy". To a question if the tribunal's decision will be contested by the Maharashtra government,Nimbalkar replied in the negative and said,"This cannot be challenged. No body can challenge this decision. There is no Supreme Court to this".
