DoneHyderabad: Irrigation and civil supplies minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Sunday announced that the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) will be fully operational in the next 30 months, and that a special drive is being launched to fast-track works on key irrigation projects in the erstwhile Mahabubnagar district.“By extending the required funds and other logistical support, all the projects that will ensure water supply for drinking and irrigation purposes to the erstwhile Mahabubnagar and other south Telangana districts will be fast-tracked. Kalwakurthy, Nettempadu, Bhima, and Koilsagar projects will be completed by March 2027,” he said.Reviewing the status of the works on the projects in the erstwhile Mahbubnagar district, he asserted that the state would make full utilisation of its entitlement to river waters without losing a drop. “The Congress govt is firm on stepping up the pace of the works in progress, with specific allocations of Rs 909 crore for Kalwakurthy, Rs 252 crore for Nettempadu, Rs 200 crore for Bhima, and Rs 185 crore for Koilsagar over the next year. To facilitate the implementation of these works on a mission mode, the govt is fast-tracking land acquisition as well as rehabilitation activities (R&R),” minister Uttam said.Quoting the chief minister, Uttam said land acquisition had been given top priority, with a decision to complete it under key projects all over the state by releasing Rs 5,000 crore by June 2 this year. Ha alleged that these projects were neglected by the previous BRS govt, which also shifted the off-take point for the PRLIS from Jurala to Srisailam, thereby increasing lift costs and putting the state at a disadvantage.Similar issues are with the Kaleshwaram project too, for which the key source was shifted from Tummidi Hatti to Medigadda. Uttam termed these decisions of the BRS govt as acts of betrayal that hiked expenses and denied benefits to Telangana farmers. The minister sought to reassure farmers in Krishna basin regions of reliable water access, higher yields, and direct financial support, terming the Congress administration farmer-centric. He also accused the BRS of indulging in false propaganda over irrigation projects.“For the PRLIS, the BRS secured administrative approval for Rs 35,200 crore but spent only about Rs 27,000 crore by the time it went out of power, with a dismal outcome. Only one pump of the Palamuru-was put into operation for hardly an hour in Sept 2023, without irrigating even a single acre effectively,” Uttam alleged.“Costs have since escalated, with the revised estimates putting it at around Rs 55,000 crore, excluding the cost of constructing the network of distributaries. The project is now expected to cost up to Rs 80,000 crore. The Congress govt will complete it regardless of expense. We spent Rs 7,161 crore on the Palamuru from Dec 7, 2023, to date. This includes Rs 6,718 crore on the implementation of the project works, Rs 284.71 crore on land acquisition, Rs 63.65 crore on R&R, and Rs 94 crore on other project-related heads,” he said.The minister also directed the irrigation officials to take up desilting of the Jurala project to ensure that its original designed gross storage capacity of 11.94 TMC is restored. Due to siltation and operational constraints, its present effective capacity has been reduced to around 9 TMC, he said.
