Hyderabad: Telangana irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy urged Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai to extend cooperation to the Telangana govt’s Sammakka Sagar project, formerly known as Tupakulagudem barrage, by issuing the pending No Objection Certificate (NOC). Uttam Kumar Reddy met the CM on Thursday night during his visit to Hyderabad.The Chhattisgarh CM has responded positively, Uttam Kumar Reddy said.The neighbouring state’s help would pave the way for the final appraisal of the project’s Detailed Project Report (DPR) by the Central Water Commission (CWC).The minister also handed over a formal communication seeking immediate issuance of the NOC required for appraisal of the DPR by the Inter-State Directorate of the Central Water Commission. In the letter dated June 11, 2026, Uttam Kumar Reddy recalled his earlier request made at Raipur on September 22, 2025, and highlighted the importance of the project for Telangana’s irrigation sector.He informed the Chhattisgarh govt that all directorates of the CWC, except the Inter-State Directorate, had already accorded clearances to the project and that the absence of the NOC alone was preventing further appraisal of the DPR.Uttam Kumar said that engineers from both the states had earlier conducted a joint survey of the submergence area. Subsequently, the Chhattisgarh govt sought a more detailed survey involving demarcation of Full Reservoir Level (FRL) and backwater levels to accurately assess the extent of land and villages likely to be affected.Demonstrating its commitment to resolving all outstanding concerns, the Telangana govt agreed to bear the entire cost of the survey and released ₹9.8 crore to the Chhattisgarh water resources department in April 2026. The survey is presently underway in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, he said.He recalled that Telangana govt also assured the neighbouring state that compensation for any lands identified as affected due to submergence or backwater impact would be paid in accordance with applicable laws and procedures. The Telangana govt has repeatedly conveyed its willingness to deposit compensation amounts in advance if required for issuance of the NOC, he said.The Sammakka Sagar project was originally planned in erstwhile AP in 2009 under PV Narasimha Rao Kanthanapally Sujala Sravanthi scheme, which envisaged construction of a barrage across the Godavari river near Kanthanapally in present-day Mulugu region for diversion of Godavari waters to stabilise the ayacut under SRSP Stage-II.Detailed technical studies concluded that shifting the barrage downstream to Tupakulagudem in Mulugu district would be technically superior, economically more viable and would substantially reduce submergence concerns in neighbouring Chhattisgarh.The project is designed to divert 46.96 tmcft of Godavari waters for stabilisation of 4.40 lakh acres under SRSP Stage-II and creation of a new ayacut of 30,000 acres under the Ramappa-Pakhal Link Canal.
