Irrigation projects taken up on river Krishna are not viable due to lack of sufficient water, planning and cost escalation. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report tabled in the State Assembly on Friday pointed out the reality of Krishna water dreams.
Some of the projects were taken up without adequate planning. “This was especially so, in respect of projects over river Krishna and Pennar, where the water required for successful implementation is above the available quantity. The government was conscious of this aspect and therefore, proposed to utilise the surplusflood water in these two rivers. However, there was no evidence in records indicated that the flood data of these rivers was analysed to assess the average number of days that flood flows are available annually,” the CAG said.“The number of flood days on river Krishna was only 30 and that too, at only 40 per cent dependability. Going by the observations of the Experts Committee, constituted by the State government in July 1997, some of the projects taken up on the river are not viable, as the water that can be drawn in 30 flood days would be less than the requirement. This was corroborated by the CWC in returning the project proposals of Galeru Nagari, Veligonda and Srisailam Left Bank canal to the government. The CWC stated that it could not establish firm availability of water on a long-term basis for these projects,” the CAG pointed out.
The CAG further stated, “Almost all the test checked projects by the CAG were taken up and contracts awarded without obtaining necessary clearances like investment clearance, forest clearance environmental clearance in-principle clearance and R&R clearance And another 11 projects were taken up without even feasibility studies.” The CAG also said that with every new project taken up on river Krishna, the availability of surplus water would progressively get reduced. Although the Planning Commission stipulates that all the projects that have inter-state ramifications should be cleared by the CWC, the State government did not obtain CWC clearance for these projects as of September 2012. In fact, CWC did not approve SLBC Tunnel, Galeru Nagari and Veligonda projects, as the State government could not establish firm and clear availability of water for these projects. There was no evidence in the records produced to Audit to show that the proposals in respect of Gandikota-CBR lift scheme and the CBR Lingala Canal were sent to the CWC at any stage for approval.
Drawl of water by a new project will affect the availability of flows for other existing, ongoing and proposed projects which depend on the same river. However, in the detailed project reports (DPRs) of - Veligonda, Telugu Ganga, Galeru-Nagari, Gandikota Reservoir, CBR Lingala Canal, Handri Neeva, SLBC and Nettempadu - it was stated that the proposed projects would not have any impact on other projects since only flood waters are proposed to be utilised. The basis for arriving at the number of days (30/45/87/90/120 days) of availability and drawl of flood waters for these projects was not discussed in the DPRs.
DELAY: The delay in completion of irrigation projects under Jalayagnam pushed up the cost by Rs 52,116 crore, as per the estimates on September, 2012. The original approved cost was Rs 1.86 lakh crore. The CAG report on Jalayagnam which was tabled in the State Legislative Assembly on Friday said in its findings: “The main reason for the time and cost overrun in the projects was delay in acquiring the required land, clearances and rehabilitation and resettlement activities. Government could not acquire adequate land required for any of the projects on time although the original agreement periods in respect of several of these projects expired. While 9.19 lakh acres was required for executing the envisaged projects, the government could acquire only 5.97 lakh acres as of March, 2012. Added to that, non-receipt of forest clearance contributed to the delay in taking up construction activities in forest areas. Government could not also coordinate effectively with statutory organisations like Railways and National Highways Authority of India to obtain permission to execute works in their lands,” the CAG found.