ChennI, Oct 13:
Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay will visit Andhra Pradesh today to meet his counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu and discuss key inter-State water-sharing issues, including the release of Krishna river water to Chennai and the proposed Godavari-Krishna-Cauvery river-linking project.
Vijay is scheduled to leave Chennai by a special flight in the afternoon and reach Gannavaram airport. He will hold talks with Naidu at his residence in the evening. Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister Ananthan is expected to participate in the discussions.
One of the key issues on the agenda is the supply of Krishna river water to Chennai under the Telugu Ganga project. Under the agreement, Andhra Pradesh is required to supply 12 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of water annually to Tamil Nadu to meet a portion of Chennai’s drinking water requirements. However, Tamil Nadu had received only 2.251 TMC of water by October 9 this year, raising concerns over the shortfall.
The two Chief Ministers are also expected to discuss the proposed Godavari-Krishna-Cauvery river-linking project, which aims to transfer surplus water to water-deficit regions. Another issue likely to figure in the talks is Andhra Pradesh’s reported plans to construct dams across rivers flowing towards Tamil Nadu.