Naidu gets Centre to do flip-flop on Krishna water dispute

But now in a volte face, it is talking the same language as Andhra Pradesh where the Telugu Desam Party which is a major prop for the Vajpayee Government is in power. Andhra Pradesh, too, has opposed the implementation of “Scheme B” while making its submissions in the apex court. In fact, the Centre has gone a step further to suggest that the problem of sharing the surplus waters constituted another water dispute which necessitated the setting up of a new tribunal.

A new tribunal would only delay the resolution of the raging dispute between Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka on the Almatti dam and other issues relating to sharing of Krishna waters. The experience with tribunals has been far from happy as the one on the Cauvery dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka would prove. Set up in 1989, the tribunal is still in the process of examining the witnesses with the final award nowhere in sight. Karnataka feels that if Scheme B is not given effect to, Andhra Pradesh whichis on the downstream will become the natural beneficiary of unused waters giving it the time to plan new projects. According to it, a new tribunal was uncalled for because the Bachawat tribunal had gone to the depth of the problem and framed a comprehensive scheme which also proposed a formula for sharing the deficit among the States in distress years.

The Centre’s counsel, Harish Salve, took pains to emphasise in the Supreme Court that the government was not siding with one state but opposed the implementation of Scheme B on three counts. One, the Bachawat tribunal had only made a proposal on Scheme B and there was no decision. Two, the SC has no jurisdiction to direct the Centre to enforce the scheme. Three, since over 20 years had lapsed after the tribunal had proposed the scheme it may not be in the interests of justice to implement it now.