Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has directed irrigation officials to prepare for early discussions with Maharashtra on the construction of the Tummidihatti barrage at a height of 152 metres. He said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had recently indicated his willingness to invite Telangana for talks after October 23.
The Chief Minister made the announcement during a review meeting on irrigation projects on Friday, attended by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, ministers N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, Jupally Krishna Rao and Duddilla Sridhar Babu, Rajya Sabha member Vem Narender Reddy and senior irrigation officials.
The meeting discussed pending issues concerning the Tummidihatti barrage and the Dindi and Achampet lift irrigation projects. Irrigation engineers briefed the Chief Minister on the quantum of water that could be brought to the Yellampalli reservoir by constructing the Tummidihatti barrage at 152 metres and 150 metres respectively.
Officials informed the Chief Minister that the barrage would not submerge any villages in Maharashtra. The barrage height at 152 metres would result in submergence of about 2,300 acres, while the impact at 150 metres would be limited to less than 1,000 acres.
Revanth Reddy directed officials to assess the submergence impact in Maharashtra and explore the possibility of constructing the barrage at a height that would enable Telangana to draw the maximum possible water. He stressed the need to convince Maharashtra to agree to a 152-metre barrage, as the earlier agreed height of 148 metres would not provide the desired quantum of water.
The Chief Minister asked irrigation officials to keep ready all technical reports, details of water availability, submergence area and other relevant information to substantiate Telangana’s case during discussions with Maharashtra. He also directed them to immediately submit the information sought by the Central Water Commission (CWC) and keep ready the details of the meetings of officials of the two states held in Delhi under its aegis.
Revanth Reddy said the Tummidihatti project was being taken up to provide irrigation to two lakh acres in the erstwhile Adilabad district, which has a large forest and tribal population and was among the most backward regions. He said the project should benefit people who had fought for years under the slogan of ‘Jal, Jangal, Zameen’. He wanted the discussions with Maharashtra to be conducted in a positive atmosphere, with Telangana’s water requirements effectively presented by the ministers.
The Chief Minister directed officials to expedite preparations for the project and focus on route designs and land acquisition for carrying water from Tummidihatti to Yellampalli once the barrage height was finalised.
The meeting also discussed arrangements to supply water to the Dindi and Achampet lift irrigation projects from the Edula reservoir. Revanth Reddy directed officials to lift 0.5 tmc ft of water from Edula for Dindi and 0.1 tmc ft for Achampet, taking the total to 0.6 tmc ft.
He instructed officials to make arrangements to bring the additional 0.6 tmc ft from the Srisailam reservoir without affecting the water requirements of the Palamuru-Rangareddy lift irrigation scheme (PRLIS). A dedicated system should be developed to lift the water from Srisailam and Narlapur to Edula, he said. The Dindi and Achampet projects should receive water from Edula without any disruption to Palamuru’s water supply, he reiterated.
Officials were asked to immediately study the requirement of pumps, pump houses and the adequacy of the existing canals and tunnel system. They should identify locations where canal capacity needs to be enhanced and prepare designs accordingly.
The meeting also discussed representations from public representatives of Mahbubnagar and Nalgonda districts on whether water for Dindi should be lifted from Narlapur or Edula. Officials presented a presentation detailing the estimated costs, advantages and disadvantages of transporting water through both routes.
As a middle path, the Chief Minister proposed bringing additional water to meet the requirements of Dindi and Achampet while protecting the Palamuru project’s water supply. The ministers supported the proposal.
Irrigation adviser Adityanath Dss, CMO secretary Manicka Raj Raj, secretary (Tunnel) Colonel Parikshit Mehra, irrigation joint secretary Srinivas and chief engineers of various projects attended the meeting.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
