HYDERABAD: The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of the Central Water Commission (CWC) which met in Delhi on Tuesday cleared three irrigation projects of the State in the Godavari basin. The TAC, under the chairmanship of Jal Shakti secretary Pankaj Kumar, accorded clearance to Chinna Kaleshwaram (Mukteswara) Lift Irrigation Scheme (LIS) in Jayashankar-Bhupalpally district, Chanaka-Korata in Adilabad district and Choutupally Hanumanth Reddy LIS in Nizamabad district. The minutes of the meeting would be released shortly.
It may be mentioned here that in its gazette notification issued in July 2021, the Jal Shakti listed these three projects as “unapproved.” In September 2021, the State government prepared detailed project reports (DPRs) and submitted them to the Ministry and Godavari River Management Board (GRMB).
Incidentally, while Andhra Pradesh officials opposed these projects in the 13th GRBM meeting held in April 2022, the GRMB cleared and sent them for the approval of the CWC, which recommended techno-economic clearance by the TAC.
During the TAC meeting on Tuesday, the Telangana team, led by Special Chief Secretary (Irrigation) Rajat Kumar, gave detailed replies to the questions raised by the Jal Shakti officials following which the Jal Shakti secretary announced that permission was being accorded to the three projects.
Rajat Kumar thanked Pankaj Kumar for the same. Chief Minister’s OSD (irrigation) Sridhar Rao Deshpande, engineers-in-chief C Muralidhar and N Venkateswarlu, and other officials from Telangana were present in the meeting.
CHANAKA-KORATA
Lift irrigation with a gravity canal network system and drinking water supply scheme to come up across the Penganga river
The storage capacity is 0.83 tmcft.
Total water utilisation is 1.5 tmcft, including 1.2 tmcft for Telangana and 0.3 tmcft for Maharashtra.
The total command area is 6,680 hectares of which 5,566 hectares are in TS and 1,214 hectares in Maharashtra.
Scheme to benefit 14 villages in Telangana, 9 in Maharashtra.
The total cost of the project is Rs 452.50 crore of which, TS will bear Rs 409.44 crore and Maharashtra Rs 43.06 crore.
Power required for the project is 8.44 MW. TS will provide 7.68 MW and Maharashtra 0.76 MW.
CHOUTPALLY HANUMANTH REDDY
The offtake point for this LIS is Shetpally tank in Nizamabad district in Godavari river sub-basin. The total command area is 3,359 hectares and water required is 0.80 tmcft. The cost of the project is Rs 48.2 crore.
As many as 28 tanks, having an ayacut of 5,807 acres, will get water.
Another 2,490 acres will get direct water supply.
CHINNA KALESHWARAM
Lift irrigation with gravity canal network system.
Project to be constructed across Godavari river to utilise 4.5 tmcft, including 4.2 tmcft for irrigation and 0.3 tmcft for drinking water.
Command area is 18,211 hectares (around 45,000 acres).
63 villages to be benefited.
Total cost of the project as approved by the CWC is Rs 545.15 crore.