The Babli project / barrage is a controversial reservoir project being constructed by
Maharashtra
Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
across the river
Godavari
The Godavari (, �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga River and drains the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakeshwar, Nashik, Maharash ...
, disputed by
Telangana
Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...
. The
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...
delivered a ruling after seven years in favour of Maharashtra with the Andhra Pradesh government expected to appeal against it.
History
The dispute arises from the fact that
S.B. Chavan and
Jalagam Vengal Rao reached an agreement in October 1975, which was later made part of the
Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) Award. As per the terms of the pact, Maharashtra could utilise 60 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) of Godavari water while Andhra Pradesh could go ahead with building the
Sriram Sagar Project (SRSP) and utilise the rest of the water.
Water Allocation
Telangana contended that Maharashtra has used up its quota in course of time by building four projects. Yet, in an action without precedent, Maharashtra began construction of the Babli project on the foreshores of SRSP and many small projects upstream.
Eighteen
lakh
A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. F ...
acres under the SRSP ayacut in the
Telangana
Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...
state will become barren if Maharashtra is allowed to have its way.
Legal battle
As per a report, dated 30 Jan 2012 even when Andhra Pradesh is waging a legal battle against Maharashtra's Babli barrage and eleven other barrages across the Godavari river, Maharashtra has agreed to Andhra Pradesh's proposal for constituting an Inter State Board (ISB) for implementing the Rs 403 billion mega
Pranahita Chevella lift irrigation scheme. With this green signal, Andhra Pradesh has overcome a major hurdle in making its dream project a reality.
2013 Supreme Court ruling
The Supreme Court ruled in favour of Maharashtra, with safeguards contained in the judgment included the stipulation to open Babli gates during the monsoon period (July to October ) to allow inflows to SRSP. The Union Cabinet on 17 October 2013 gave its approval for Constitution of the 3-Members Supervisory Committee on the Babhali Barrage to implement the directions of the Supreme Court.
See also
*
Sriram Sagar Project
The Sriram Sagar Project is also known as the Pochampadu Project is an Indian flood-flow project on the Godavari. The Project is located in Nizamabad district, 3 km away from National Highway 44. It has been described by The Hindu as a "lif ...
*
Nizam Sagar
References
{{Coord, 18, 51, 12, N, 77, 49, 14, E, type:landmark_region:IN-MR, display=title
Dams on the Godavari River
Dams in Andhra Pradesh
Reservoirs in India
History of Andhra Pradesh (1947–2014)
Inter-state disputes in India
Godavari basin
Proposed infrastructure in India