The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the petition filed by the Telangana government seeking an injunction against the construction of the Polavaram project in Andhra Pradesh on the Godavari river and the Panakashirla scheme linking the Godavari river with the Krishna basin, people familiar with the development said.
A bench headed by Justice Vikram Nath refused to issue notice to the Andhra Pradesh government or grant any interim relief sought by Telangana.
Instead, the court asked the Telangana government to correct the flaws in its petition before it comes up for hearing.
Counsel for the Telangana government urged the court to issue notice to the Andhra Pradesh government and pass interim orders, noting that the petition had named 15 respondents.
However, the bench observed that the main petition suffers from procedural flaws and can only be considered after it is remedied. She explained that no notice will be issued or the matter will be heard until the defects are corrected.
The court said that all other aspects of the case will be considered only after the petition is corrected and resubmitted.
The Polavaram-Pannakashirla issue, now referred to by Andhra Pradesh as the Polavaram-Nallamala Sagar link project, has been a flashpoint between the two Telugu states for several months.
Telangana has claimed that Andhra Pradesh is expanding the canal network of the Polavaram Project and building new reservoirs and tunnels to divert a much larger amount of Godavari flood water into the Krishna basin than the 80 TMC canals originally cleared.
It argued that the project lacks mandatory approvals from the Central Water Commission and violates the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal decision and the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014.
The state also raised concerns about the risk of drowning in Khammam, Bhadradri Kothagudem and Mulugu districts due to the effects of stagnant water.
Andhra Pradesh has defended the project as necessary to meet the water needs of its drought-prone areas.
