Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in Vijayawada and pressed for cooperation to implement the Krishna–Godavari–Cauvery river water interlinking project. Vijay said Tamil Nadu’s recurring water scarcity affects both agriculture and drinking water supply.
The river-linking proposal was announced in 2011, but did not move forward as Central funding was not provided. Efforts to secure funds were later made, but allocations did not materialise due to a lack of cooperation from neighbouring states, the report said.
According to the plan, support from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka is required. If implemented, Tamil Nadu could potentially divert around 300 TMC of water said to be going waste annually from the Krishna river.
During the meeting, Vijay also highlighted Chennai’s drinking water situation, stating that lakes in Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Cuddalore districts together held only 4.54 TMC. He warned that if the northeast monsoon fails, meeting the city’s demand could become difficult.
Citing the Telugu Ganga agreement, Vijay urged Naidu to release the annual 11 TMC of Krishna water from the Kandaleru reservoir for Chennai’s needs, noting that less than 3 TMC had been received so far this year. The hour-long meeting was attended by ministers and officials from both states, and later the two leaders participated together in the “Vijayawada Utsav 2.0” cultural festival and watched Navaratri performances.
