River row: Telangana & Andhra Pradesh agree to monitor water use; panel on disputes

HYDERABAD: In a major step towards resolving the long-standing river water disputes between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, both states on Wednesday agreed to install telemetry equipment at all offtake points in the Krishna basin and constitute a joint committee to identify and address pending issues related to Krishna and Godavari river waters.The breakthrough came during a meeting in New Delhi, chaired by Union Jal Shakti minister CR Patil, and attended by Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy and his AP counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu, along with their respective irrigation ministers and top officials. This marked the first time Revanth and Naidu faced each other in a meeting facilitated by the Jal Shakti ministry on inter-state river water issues.

The two-hour meeting concluded with a four-point consensus, with both states committing to a cooperative path forward.

A key outcome was AP's agreement to the installation of telemetry systems - a long-standing demand of Telangana, which has repeatedly accused the neighbouring state of drawing excess water from the Krishna."We have always maintained that AP was drawing more water than allocated, and the installation of telemetry equipment was essential. The govt of India asked AP to agree, and they did. This is a success for Telangana," said CM Revanth after the meeting.Irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said that while some telemetry units already exist, many crucial points lack the technology. "This will now be addressed. The previous BRS govt neglected this issue," he added.