KRMB and GRMB Schedule August Meetings as Telangana and AP Resume River Water Talks
HYDERABAD — Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are set for fresh discussions over Krishna and Godavari river water sharing, with the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) scheduling a meeting on August 13 and the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) meeting set for August 18. Held in Hyderabad amid a difficult water year and the lingering impact of El Nino, the upcoming meetings focus on reservoir levels, project operations, water releases, and pending project approvals between the two neighbouring states.
The immediate dispute centres on reservoir releases and operational control over common water bodies. Telangana is facing tight water availability following a delayed response by the Congress government to lift and store adequate quantities during the early phase of the monsoon despite heavy inflows into both river basins. With irrigation demand now rising, the state's storage options have narrowed.
At the KRMB meeting on August 13, officials will review the availability and utilisation of water in the shared Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar reservoirs. Srisailam currently holds 118.62 TMCft against its full storage capacity of 225 TMCft, with a water level of 863.9 feet. Meanwhile, Nagarjuna Sagar holds around 150 TMCft against its capacity of 312.05 TMCft. Telangana officials noted that withdrawing adequate water from Nagarjuna Sagar at its current level remains difficult.
Telangana plans to press for water releases from Srisailam into Nagarjuna Sagar to cater to farmers dependent on the Sagar Left Canal, particularly across old Nalgonda, Khammam, and Mahabubnagar districts. State officials have alleged that Andhra Pradesh is drawing available water from Srisailam through the Pothireddypadu head regulator before substantial flows can reach Nagarjuna Sagar, an issue expected to be formally raised at the meeting.
To address this, Telangana is likely to seek continued hydropower generation at Srisailam to push water into Nagarjuna Sagar. Officials expect that any operational restrictions on these releases could impact both irrigation availability for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh’s ability to divert water via Pothireddypadu.
The focus will shift to the Godavari basin during the GRMB meeting on August 18, where board members will review project permissions. The meeting agenda includes reviews relating to certain Telangana projects. The opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has objected to these reviews, arguing that approved projects such as Kaleshwaram, Sitarama, and Chanaka-Korata should not be re-examined in a manner that compromises Telangana's water rights or challenges existing project allocations.
The Telangana government has rejected the BRS allegations, stating that similar agenda items have appeared in previous GRMB meetings and assuring that the state's water interests will be protected as Andhra Pradesh presents its claims to the Centre and the river boards.
