Hyderabad: Irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said the state govt has released ₹2,000 crore towards compensation and rehabilitation to expedite pending irrigation projects stalled due to land acquisition and relief and rehabilitation (R&R) issues. He said chief minister A Revanth Reddy had assured the release of ₹5,000 crore and that a shortage of funds would not be allowed to delay irrigation works that were otherwise nearing completion.He asked officials to prepare a project-wise inventory of pending land acquisition (LA), R&R, and forest and environmental clearance issues, indicating the required amount, the present stage, and the deadline for resolution. He made it clear that every issue raised by elected representatives during the review must be converted into a specific action point and that action-taken reports should be placed before the next review.“Wherever land acquisition, R&R or forest issues are holding up an irrigation project, send the proposals immediately. Funds would be given priority. Our objective is to complete projects and deliver water to the intended ayacut without further delay,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said.Speaking at a comprehensive review of irrigation projects under implementation in the districts of Karimnagar, Jagtial, Peddapalli and Rajanna Sircilla (erstwhile Karimnagar district) on Saturday, Uttam directed district collectors and irrigation officials to treat land acquisition, R&R, forest clearances and environmental approvals as priority issues and resolve them on a war footing.Agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao, IT and Industries minister D Sridhar Babu, Transport minister Ponnam Prabhakar and others participated in the review along with elected representatives.Uttam asked collectors to raise financial requirements and obtain the necessary tokens without delay. Compensation to landowners and rehabilitation of project-affected families, he said, should proceed in parallel with engineering works wherever feasible.“The CM is giving special attention to irrigation projects so that investments already made in major projects could be converted quickly into irrigation benefits for farmers. A major focus of the review was on projects where works have remained stalled for about four-and-a-half years,” Uttam said.The minister directed officials to immediately resolve the land-related issues and restart the balance works on the Mid Manair Left Bank Canal. He said revised estimates, land acquisition, tenders and statutory clearances should be pursued simultaneously.
