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The dispute over Krishna river water between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana remains unresolved, a decade after the bifurcation of the state.

The Krishna water dispute flared up when Telangana separated from Andhra Pradesh in June 2014 via the AP Reorganisation Bill passed by the Congress government.

It dates back to the formation of Andhra Pradesh in November 1956. Before the formation of Andhra Pradesh, four senior leaders from different regions of Andhra, Rayalaseema, Telangana region, came together to sign the Gentlemen’s Agreement on February 20, 1956.

One of the provisions of the agreement was the protection of Telangana’s interests and needs – especially regarding utilisation of water resources and equitable distribution based on treaties followed globally.

However, the focus of the dispensation of water for irrigation facilities was with Andhra, which already had systems developed by the British at the cost of in-basin drought-prone areas in Telangana.

Formation of Krishna water disputes tribunal:

In April 1969, the Union government constituted a tribunal to adjudicate the water disputes among riparian river basin states of Krishna and Godavari rivers under the provisions of Interstate River Water Disputes Act – 1956, also known as Bachawat Tribunal (KWDT-1) and it was constituted to solve the dispute between Krishna water river basin states – AP (before bifurcation), Maharashtra, Karnataka and the KWDT-1 award was given in 1973.

In its award, the KWDT distributed water based on dependability and was divided between three states At the time, the tribunal allocated 811 tmcft water to AP out of the total 2060 tmc. The AP government at the time apportioned 512:299 ratio of water between AP, Rayalaseema, Telangana regions.

 The tribunal had also said that Tungabhadra dam (part of Krishna basin) water could be used by drought prone Mahabubnagar area of Telangana. This, however, was not followed, giving rise to discontent among the people in the region.

KWDT-2 Tribunal headed by Justice Brajesh Kumar issued its award in 2013, not changing the water allocation, except by increasing AP allocation by 4 tmcft.

Krishna River origin:

It originates near Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra and runs for 303 km in the state, then passing through 480 km of North Karnataka, flowing through 1300 km of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh before emptying into the Bay of Bengal.

The tributaries include Tungabhadra, Mallaprabha, Koyna, Bhima, Ghataprabha, Yerla, Warna, Dindi, Musi and Dudhganga.

Water sharing after bifurcation:

The issue of water sharing was not mentioned in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 but it said that two water boards – Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) and Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) have to be set up for the management of water resources.

The Act had also mandated the formation of an Apex Council by the Central government for the supervision and functioning of KRMB and GRMB. The Apex Council consists of Union Water Resources Minister and the Chief Ministers of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh.

After a meeting was convened by Water Resource Ministry in 2015, the two states settled on sharing water in 34:66 ratio for Telangana, AP respectively and with a provision that it has to be reviewed every year.

The KRMB, however, went along with the ratio apportioned in 2015 for years, in spite of the objections from Telangana.

Telangana went to the Supreme court and demanded 70 percent water share. After it was assured of formation of a tribunal to tackle the issue, the state withdrew the case.

On the request of Telangana, the Government of India issued fresh terms of reference to KWDT-2 in October 2023.

Disputes have also arisen from the operation of dams and hydropower projects, especially Nagrjuna Sagar dam and Srisailam dam, located on the borders of the states.

Telangana government filed a complaint against AP after Andhra government proposed to increase use of Krishna water from a section of the river above the Srisailm Reservoir, which is constructed across the Krishna River in Nallamala hills of AP.

Similarly, AP government also complained that Palamuru-Rangareddy, Dindi Lift Irrigation Scheme on Krishna River are new projects.

Telangana, AP claims:

Telangana has demanded the Union government to finalise water share ratios since it came into existence in 2014. Telangana has made it clear that it deserves 70 percent of the water allocation out of the 811 tmcft. It has also complained that AP is diverting 300 tmcft water to areas outside the basin away from the drought prone areas within the Krishna basin in Telangana.

Andhra Pradesh has also staked claim for a higher percentage of water to protect the interests of areas that have already been developed.

The Central government has convened meetings via the Apex Council previously but there has been no resolution to the issue.

In January 2025, in a big victory for Telangana, KWDT-2 has decided to hear Further Terms of Reference (ToR) issued by the Central government under Section 3 of Interstate River Water Disputes (ISRWD) before addressing arguments under Section 89 of the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.

Telangana had requested the tribunal to prioritise Further Reference first while Andhra Pradesh opposed it. 

In February 2025, the Krishna River Board Management (KRMB) asked both states to prioritise the drinking water needs of their respective states.