Supreme Court Disposes Telangana Writ on Polavaram-Banakacherla Link Expansion

The Supreme Court disposes of a writ petition filed by Telangana against the Union government and Andhra Pradesh regarding the proposed expansion of the Polavaram-Banakacherla Link Project. The proposal provides for diverting surplus Godavari River water via the Polavaram dam to the drought-prone Rayalaseema region through the Krishna and Penna basins.

Polavaram-Banakacherla Link Project :

Dimension	Key Details
Alternate name	Also known as Polavaram-Nallamalasagar Link Project
Project provides for	Diverting surplus Godavari River water via the Polavaram dam to the Rayalaseema region through the Krishna and Penna basins
Approval	Approved in 2009
Purpose	Provides for irrigating lands and providing drinking water
Governance	Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) Award
Technical clearances	Issued by the Central Water Commission
Initial permission	Polavaram was initially permitted to divert 80 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of water from the Godavari to the Krishna River
Telangana’s position	Telangana argues the project violates water-sharing laws from the AP Reorganisation Act
Andhra Pradesh’s position	Andhra Pradesh maintains that the diversion involves only “flood” or “surplus” waters of the Godavari
Inter-state river dispute resolution	Based on the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956
Tribunal constitution and award status	Union government can constitute a tribunal when states fail to resolve water sharing disagreements; tribunal award is final and binding with the force of a Supreme Court decree
Tribunals constituted (1969)	Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT) and Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) were constituted in 1969 under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956
Godavari River	Originates in the Western Ghats; flows through Maharashtra; drains into the Bay of Bengal