Tamil Nadu government mulling over using pipelines to bring Krishna water

Project cost is expected to be over ₹15,000 crore, if the drawal point is Srisailam

The State government is again mulling over the proposal to bring Krishna water from Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu via a dedicated pipeline. The authorities are getting inputs from various stakeholders in this regard despite concerns raised over the the huge amount that may be needed for the project, at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has hit finances of the State government. A fresh look is being taken at the proposal, given the fact that Tamil Nadu has never realised its share of 12 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) of Krishna water even once since the commissioning of the Krishna Water Supply Scheme/Telugu Ganga Project. The highest quantum received in the last 25 years was 8.237 tmcft in 2020-21. Illegal drawal of water by farmers along the 152-km-long Kandaleru-Poondi canal is being cited as one of the reasons for the State not being able to get its due fully.