Hyderabad, June 22: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today demanded the Centre cancel all clearances to the projects on the Krishna and Pennar basins in Karnataka. Reiterating his demand for immediate release of drinking water to drought hit Anantapur district bordering Karnataka, Naidu said the upper riparian state continues to construct projects on Pennar basin which is denying the right of the lower riparian state over its share of drinking water.
He said the state has already filed a suit against the Karnataka government over Paragodu project while it is contemplating filing another over the Upper Tunga project. Naidu said execution of these projects by Karnataka may deny the water flow to chronic drought-affected districts of Anantapur, Cuddapah, Kurnool and Chittoor.
The chief minister, who led an all party delegation to New Delhi yesterday, met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and made a detailed representation on the projects being constructed on these two basins "in violations of all rules and agreements". Following the representation, the Prime Minister asked Union Water Resources Minister Arjun Charan Sethi to convene a meeting of top officials from both the disputing states on Wednesday to sort out the tangle.
The delegation, which also comprised the main opposition congress, also called on President A P J Abdul Kalam during their one-day visit to the capital. Bureau Report