SRIKAKULAM: Agriculture Minister Kinjarapu Atchannaidu on Friday said restoration of lift irrigation schemes covering 18,220 acres of ayacut has been made a priority.
He said the coalition government’s main aim was to ensure irrigation water reached farmers’ fields and that Rs 8.65 crore had been sanctioned for the restoration and modernisation of the schemes.
The works are progressing rapidly and, once completed, 14 lift irrigation schemes will benefit more than 15,000 farmers across the constituency, he said.
Atchannaidu alleged that negligence during the previous YSRCP government had led to the theft of copper equipment and machinery from transformers at several lift irrigation schemes, rendering them defunct and causing hardship to farmers due to lack of irrigation water.
After the coalition government came to power in 2024, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu sanctioned Rs 78 lakh for the repair and restoration of the schemes, the Minister said. The funds were used to carry out essential repairs and bring the schemes back into operation.
In 2026, an additional Rs 7.87 crore was sanctioned, he said. Of this, Rs 3.77 crore was allocated to the Kondapeta lift irrigation scheme in Kotabommali mandal and Rs 4.10 crore to the Madanagopalasagaram scheme in Tekkali mandal.
The works include laying new pipelines, expanding the ayacut and modernising the schemes. The works are being carried out with quality standards, he said and added that the lift irrigation schemes in the Tekkali constituency had the capacity to irrigate thousands of acres. Of the 14 schemes, 11 in Kotabommali mandal cover 13,650 acres, two in Tekkali mandal cover 4,100 acres and one in Nandigam mandal covers 470 acres.