HYDERABAD: Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy will meet officials of National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) in Delhi on Saturday and discuss repairs to the damaged Medigaddda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages, all critical components of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS).
The meeting comes in the backdrop of an expert committee of the NDSA giving its interim report and the government taking some steps to protect the barrages. However, the final report of the NDSA is awaited.
It is expected that the government will make some decisions on the utilisation of the damaged barrages after the meeting of the minister, accompanied by Irrigation officials, with officials of NDSA in Delhi on Saturday.
Meanwhile, in an informal chat with reporters here on Wednesday, Uttam said that the Irrigation department would prepare a route map for expediting the construction of various ongoing irrigation projects. He said that the target to complete ongoing irrigation projects was December 2025.
On Wednesday, Uttam reviewed the progress of work on the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Project with Irrigation secretary Rahul Bojja and Adviser Aditya Nath Das. The minister along with PRLIP, also reviewed the progress of Koil Sagar, RBLIS, JNLIS, Dindi LIS, AMRS LBS, Nettempadu, Bhima, Kalwakurthy LIS in Krishna basin and Chinna Kaleshwaram, Neelwai, Palemvagu, Mattadivagu, SRSP Phase-2, Chanaka-Korata, Lower Penganga, Devadula, Modikunta Vagu, SYP-2, JCRDLI and Sitarama LIS in Godavari basin.
Uttam told the meeting that around Rs 8,000 crore was required for completion of the projects in Mahbubnagar — Chinna Kaleshwaram, Modikunta, Lower Penganga, Chanaka-Korata, Sripada Yellampally, JCR DLIS and others.
The Irrigation department requested the government to allocate an additional Rs 11,000 crore in the state Budget for this year so as to enable it to meet the December-2025 deadline. The minister said that though Rs 28,000 crore was allocated for Irrigation in the Vote-on-Account Budget this year, the department had to spend Rs 18,000 crore for repayment of loans and interest on the money borrowed by the BRS government and another Rs 2,000 crore for payment of salaries.
“That’s why the department has decided to request the government to allocate an additional Rs 11,000 crore for the Irrigation department in the Budget that will be presented in this month. If all the ongoing projects were to be completed by December 2025, then an additional six lakh acres would get irrigation facilities,” Uttam said.
He said that the ongoing projects were prioritised into A, B and C categories. Projects nearing completion were included in the A category and focus would be given to them. The projects included in the A category, which will provide irrigation to 47,882 acres, require Rs 240.66 crore for completion of the remaining works. Other ongoing projects required around Rs 7,500 crore, which would irrigate 5,84,770 acres, he said.
Revanth to inaugurate Sadarmat by month-end
The Irrigation minister said that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy would inaugurate Sadarmat project in Nirmal district by the end of this month. The CM would inaugurate Sitaram LIS on August 15 in Khammam district, Uttam said