Down in southern India’s sunburnt fields, the Krishna and Godavari rivers snake through dry farmland, lifelines for millions. Ever since Andhra Pradesh split into AP and Telangana back in 2014, the two have been locked in a bitter, drawn-out fight over who gets how much water. What started as a promise of fairness in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act quickly turned sour — now it’s tribunal showdowns, stalled projects, and brinkmanship. As November 2025 rolls around, the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II (KWDT-II) is at a fever pitch and AP’s fresh Godavari diversion plans have poured fuel on the fire.
Historical Flashpoints: From Unity to Division
The split in 2014 is where ‘water dispute’ began. No clear tribunal orders for surplus water, just a patchwork of interim arrangements. The Polavaram project — a massive Godavari dam and irrigation system — sits at the center, along with the proposed Polavaram-Banakacherla Link Project (PBLP), designed to send 200 TMC of Godavari floodwater to Rayalaseema’s parched lands via the Krishna basin. Telangana flat-out opposes the move, arguing it breaks the rules set in 2014 and threatens its 968 TMC Godavari share, granted way back by a 1980 tribunal. Right now, Krishna water is split on paper: AP gets 512 TMC, TS gets 299 TMC, but Telangana is demanding a much bigger slice — 763 TMC — in front of KWDT-II. Central agencies like GRMB, KRMB, and CWC are trying to mediate, and in July 2025, an expert committee started scrutinizing the PBLP. As the year closes, the arguments just keep escalating.
Allocations, Utilization, and the Widening Gap
November 2025 brought a fresh surge in tensions. AP tore up the old PBLP tender on November 7, citing TS’s resistance and environmental worries, then quickly invited new bids for a reworked Polavaram-Nallamala Sagar Link Project. This new version, set to follow CWC guidelines, aims to move Godavari water without the Banakacherla reservoir. TS called foul, vowing a Supreme Court fight and warning that the plan will eat into its Krishna share. Andhra Pradesh stood its ground, with Chandrababu Naidu reviewing legal arguments and telling his team to defend their 512 TMC allocation against TS’s push for more. Construction on the Polavaram diaphragm wall hit 73% completion, with Phase-I set for October 2026.
Meanwhile, Revanth Reddy government isn’t sitting quietly. Officials warned the Polavaram Project Authority that storing water in Phase I could flood Bhadrachalam and nearby areas via eight Godavari tributaries. They want guarantees this won’t happen before any water gets impounded. The Congress government in Telangana is also taking its fight to the Centre. In mid-November, Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy met with Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil, asking him to block the PBLP pre-feasibility report and fast-track clearances for Telangana’s own projects, like Sammakka-Sarakka on the Godavari. They’re adamant — there’s no such thing as a “surplus” share, not since the 1980 tribunal.
On the Andhra side, opposition leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is sounding alarms. He’s warning the state government that letting Telangana win more Krishna water would be a “severe injustice,” blaming earlier TDP decisions, like allowing the Almatti dam to rise, for putting AP on the back foot now. Andhra Pradesh insists the 66-34 post-split water division — 512 TMC for AP, 299 TMC for TS — isn’t permanent. Telangana wants that changed, but with KWDT-II dragging on, nothing is settled.
Polavaram-Banakacherla Link
Andhra says it can move about 200 TMC of Godavari floodwater to Rayalaseema, which desperately needs it, without hurting TS — since AP sits downstream and most monsoon floods just sweep into the Bay of Bengal unused. The original ₹81,900-crore Polavaram–Banakacherla Link was supposed to do this, but Andhra switched to the Polavaram–Nallamala Sagar Link after Telangana’s fierce pushback. TS insists these diversions break the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, and haven’t cleared the hurdles set by GRMB, KRMB, or CWC. They say the new plan threatens both their assured 968 TMC Godavari share and their Krishna-basin projects like Palamuru-Rangareddy. A central expert panel (set up in July 2025) is still weighing the revised link, while the Environment Appraisal Committee tossed out the old proposal in June 2025. Telangana already has a Supreme Court case pending from April and plans more litigation if Andhra pushes ahead.
AP is digging in its heels on the Krishna river dispute. The state wants to keep its 512 TMC share and insists that bringing in Godavari water is allowed under Clause XIV(B) of the old KWDT-I award. Telangana isn’t backing down either. It’s pushing the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II (KWDT-II, led by Justice Brijesh Kumar) for a much larger 763 TMC share. TS points out that Karnataka’s decision to raise the Almatti dam height has already cut down inflows, and demands Andhra stop diverting water outside the basin. For now, the Centre has left things in limbo with an interim arrangement—Telangana gets 299 TMC. But the final tribunal decision is nowhere in sight.
When it comes to the Godavari, AP keeps repeating that nearly 3,000 TMC of water simply flows out to sea every year. The state says it’s willing to support TS’s new projects if both sides swap mutual no-objection certificates. TS isn’t convinced. It sticks to the 1980 Godavari tribunal’s 1,486 TMC total and says Andhra can’t just take “surplus” water—legally, that surplus doesn’t exist. Telangana also worries deeply about the fate of Khammam district villages, which could go under when the Polavaram project stores water.
Positions in the Arena: AP's Defiance, TS's Demands
On the talks front, CM Chandrababu Naidu keeps saying he’s ready to meet TS’s CM Revanth Reddy, one-on-one. He thinks the revised river-link proposal has cleared up old disputes. But, the Revanth Reddy government wants more than words—demanding a written “no-loss assurance” from the Centre. Revanth Reddy even sent a six-point list of demands on November 19, 2025. The Union Jal Shakti Minister, C.R. Paatil, tried to bring both chief ministers to the table in June 2025. In July, the offices for the river boards (GRMB in Hyderabad, KRMB in Amaravati) finally got official approval. Still, there’s no real progress.
Now, with the first phase of Polavaram impoundment set before the 2026 monsoon, tempers are running high. The Centre is pushing for another Apex Council meeting, hoping for some kind of breakthrough. But neither Andhra nor Telangana seems ready to compromise. Meanwhile, farmers on both sides just want water in their fields. One farmer from Rayalaseema put it simply: “We don’t care whose river it is. We only want our children to stay on the land instead of migrating to cities.”
Unless both governments choose dialogue over courtroom battles, the rivers will keep flowing—and people will just keep waiting.