HYDERABAD: The Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) has asked Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to release ₹23.32 crore for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 budgets. The board is in a financial crisis and struggling to pay staff salaries. In a joint letter to the Engineers-in-Chief of both states, KRMB said no funds have been released for the last three quarters (April to December 2025). Salaries are being paid by temporarily using ₹4.15 crore from Telangana's funds meant for second-phase telemetry equipment installation. Phase-one telemetry is under maintenance until March 31, 2027, but ₹23.3 lakh needed for this year's maintenance is not yet provided. Of 18 radar sensors from phase-one, only seven work well; 11 need replacement and relocation in lift irrigation schemes. For phase-two, both states agreed on 14 locations, and the board added 15 more. Telangana proposed an extra 22 locations. All telemetry stations from both phases were supposed to be active by July 2019. However, delays mean some lift irrigation scheme locations were dropped, four new sensors are proposed instead of five originally planned, and phase-one data is still unused. KRMB also noted its role is limited to post-use water regulation due to no project handover as required by the AP Reorganisation Act and lack of project-wise water allocation. Regarding phase-three telemetry, the board said states must trust ultrasonic ACDP/SLDCP technology if they decide to proceed. Published - January 06, 2026 10:06 pm IST