Babli project: AP to seek legal opinion before filing SC plea

Andhra Pradesh government will take legal opinion before filing a review petition in Supreme Court on its verdict in the controversial Babli irrigation project constructed by Maharashtra on river Godavari.
In its verdict on February 28, the Supreme Court permitted Maharashtra to complete construction of the project and also utilise 2.74 tmc ft of water out of its total share of 60 tmc ft of Godavari water.
The AP government convened an all-party meeting here this afternoon to discuss the fallout of the verdict and the course of action it should now take.
All political parties demanded that the state file a review petition in the apex court to protect AP's interests even as the government admitted that the SC verdict was indeed a setback for the state.

"We have decided to take legal opinion on the issue of filing a review petition. We will discuss the issue again with all the parties before taking a final decision," Major Irrigation Minister P Sudershan Reddy said after the meeting.
At the meeting, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy reportedly came in for criticism for stating that the verdict caused no loss to the state.

"It is a well acknowledged fact that Babli is an illegal project. Maharashtra constructed it without approval from the Central Water Commission. There is no guarantee it will now utilise only 2.74 tmc ft of water from Babli as ordered by the court since there is no clarity on utilisation of its allotted share of 60 tmc ft," Opposition parties said.

They referred to Cauvery water dispute and Tungabhadra dam issue which remained unresolved despite several orders by the apex court and tribunals.
"The Maharashtra government did not even respect the Prime Minister's word and went ahead with the construction of Babli. What's the guarantee that it will utilise only 2.74 tmc ft of water from the project?" the parties sought to know from the Congress government.