VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh is ready for talks with Telangana to resolve the Krishna water dispute, said engineer-in-chief C Narayana Reddy.
Speaking to TOI on Tuesday, Narayana Reddy welcomed the advice of Chief Justice of India, Justice N V Ramana, to sit across the table and resolve the issue. He said that AP had always been ready for dialogue with Telangana on the issue. “We have made several attempts for solving the issues across the table. There is no response (from Telangana) forcing us to knock at the doors of the Supreme Court or NGT,” the engineer-in-chief said.
When asked if the state would take initiative to hold talks with Telangana on the issue, Narayana Reddy said that it was left to the counsels of the two states in the Supreme Court. “The CJI had asked the counsels to take initiative for a dialogue between the two states. We will wait for such a situation,” he said.
The Chief Justice of India had advised the two states to resolve the dispute through talks. “I don’t want to hear this matter legally. But if the matter can be settled in mediation, please do that,” Justice Ramana told the counsels of the two states in the Supreme Court on Monday. He also offered that “the bench could assist the mediation process.”
The engineer-in-chief took strong exception to the objections raised by the Telangana government over AP drawing water from Krishna river. He said that the Telangana’s objections are not acceptable and have no legal validity. “Telangana is violating all the agreements in drawing the Krishna water. It did not heed to the requests of Andhra Pradesh or even the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to stop drawing water for power generation,” the engineer-in-chief said.
