Panneerselvam meets Naidu, AP agrees to release 2.5 tmc water to Chennai

Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu O Panneerselvam on Thursday requested Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu for further release of Krishna water from Kandaleru Reservoir to meet Chennai's drinking water needs during their meeting in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.

Andhra Pradesh made it clear that of the 5 tmcft that has to be released to Tamil Nadu annually under the Inter-State Agreement signed in 1983, only 2.5 tmcft water would be released through the Telugu Ganga canal henceforth.

The rest, it added, has to come from Telangana, the sister State that has a share in the resources and liabilities as well.

While thanking Chandrababu Naidu for immediately accepting Tamil Nadu's request and ensuring the flow of water from January 9, 2017, O Panneerselvam highlighted that this was possible only because of the goodwill and mutual understanding between the two States.

Naidu agreed in principle to release remaining 1.5 tmcft water at the earliest, but after considering the availability and local demand.

“We have already released 1 tmcft. A decision on releasing remaining 1.5 tmcft will be taken after considering the availability of water in Kandaleru reservoir and also the local water demand,” Naidu said.