Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh have agreed to follow the Supreme Court verdict on the Bhabhli dam issue.
Prime minister Manmohan Singh’s intervention over the Babhali dam controversy between the states of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh could not resolve the deadlock, and the status quo prevails.
“The two sides have agreed to follow the verdict of the Supreme Court,” said Union minister for water resources Pawan Bansal in a brief statement after an hour-long meeting.
Both Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh chief ministers Ashok Chavan and K Rosaiah did not speak to waiting newsmen at the prime minister’s residence.
The meeting was scheduled in the backdrop of the growing political heat over the dam with former Andhra chief minister and Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu threatening to take the issue to the streets.
A week ago, Rosaiah had led an all-party delegation to the prime minister, requesting a political solution to the dispute as a legal resolution is time consuming.
“I am also in favour of a political solution, but the problem is that water disputes between the states do not get resolved easily,” Chavan had said.
At the meeting, the state is reported to have conveyed its position that the Babhali dam is being constructed within the territory of the state 7 kilometres upstream of the border and there are 13 other barrages within a distance of 400 kilometres — all within 60 TMC of the water use that has been allocated to the state under the Godavari Water Dispute Tribunal (GWDT).
The construction of the project is going ahead as per the instructions of the Supreme Court. It has been asserted that all the projects taken up by the state are within the GWDT award and the interim order of the Supreme Court. The next hearing is slated later this month in the Supreme Court.
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