HYDERABAD: The Telangana government will begin the construction of new irrigation projects that were cleared by the State Cabinet on Saturday from November, 2021. Sources from the Irrigation Department told TNIE that the works would commence once the monsoon season was over. The survey on these projects and the preparation of detailed project reports (DPR) would be done over the next two months, they said. It may be recalled that the Cabinet had given the nod for the construction of a barrage between Jogulamba-Gadwal and Wanaparthy districts to supplement Edula reservoir being constructed as part of the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS).
It had also accorded permission for the construction of Pulichintala left canal, Bhima flood flow canal and a lift irrigation scheme at Sunkesila, besides increasing the storage capacity of Kalwakurthy reservoirs by 20 tmcft.
According to the sources, the State Cabinet took these drastic decisions in response to the Andhra Pradesh government’s ongoing construction of Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project (RLIP), despite the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directing it to submit a DPR to the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB).
“The Andhra Pradesh government cannot proceed with RLIP works without environmental clearance,” the NGT order had said. The sources explained that Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, while objecting to the RLIP works, had told Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in the Apex Council meeting held on October 6, 2020, that if Andhra Pradesh went ahead with the project, Telangana would construct a new barrage across Krishna.
“Since Andhra Pradesh is still taking up RLIP works, the Cabinet has decided to construct the new barrage between Jogulamba-Gadwal and Wanaparthy districts to utilise its share in the Krishna river,” the sources said. The State has been demanding the allocation of 550 tmcft water in Krishna of the 811 tmcft allocated to combined Andhra Pradesh.