HYDERABAD: The State government on Saturday constituted Telangana State Water Resources Infrastructure Development Corporation (TSWRIDC), a special purpose vehicle (SPV), for better and optimum utilisation of Godavari river water.
The Corporation will also be helpful for raising required funds for the construction of projects across the Godavari. The TSWRIDC has been constituted to plan, appraise, evaluate, manage and envisage effective utilisation of Godavari water by constructing dams, tunnels, canals, lift systems and reservoirs for its various projects including Sita Rama Lift Irrigation Project- Khammam, JCR Devadula Lift Irrigation Scheme (JCRDLIS) -Warangal, Flood Flow Canal (FFC) - Karimnagar, Kanthanapally Project (Thupakulagudem Barrage) - Warangal.
The registered office of the Corporation will be located at Hyderabad. It will function from the office of the Chief Engineer of Godavari Lift Irrigation Scheme. A dedicated and substantial revenue stream has been made available to the Special Purpose Vehicle so as to make it self-sustainable. An initial authorised share capital of `1 crore and paid up capital of `50 lakh has been provided for the Corporation by the government.The Corporation will be headed by a full-time chairman, Special Chief Secretary of Irrigation or any other person nominated by the government. The representative of the financial institutions will be a director on the Board.
Kupti to supplement Kaddam
The State government on Saturday accorded administrative approval for the construction of Kupti multipurpose project to store 5.3 tmc of water for supplementation of Kaddam reservoir near Kupti village in Neradigonda mandal of Adilabad district. The project will be constructed with an estimated cost of `870 crore. Kupti will be a balancing reservoir. It will also cater to the drinking water needs in the vicinity and generate hydro electric power of 3 MW.
The Kaddam reservoir storage capacity is 7.2 tmc and due to siltation, the present capacity has been reduced to 4.7 tmc (gross storage) and 4.1 tmc (live storage). Due to various tanks developed in the catchment area, the project is receiving water generally between July and September. The seasonal water demand for the ayacut is spread over October to December, during which scarcity of water is observed at the end of each crop period.
Due to insufficient storage in Kaddam reservoir, the average ayacut irrigated under Kaddam is limited to 41,868 acres against 68,150 acres leaving a gap of 26,282, acres.
The Kupti will store the excess flows during heavy rains in July and August to utilise them for supplementing Kaddam reservoir.
Two reservoirs sanctioned
Two more reservoirs at Pippal Koti with a storage capacity of 1.42 tmc and at Gomutri Vagu with a storage capacity of 0.7 tmc were also sanctioned by the irrigation department on Saturday. Pippal Koti reservoir will be taken up at an estimated cost of `369 crore, while Gomutri will be taken up at an estimated cost of `215 crore.