HYDERABAD: Telangana has suffered a permanent loss in the irrigation sector due to the “wrong decisions” taken by the previous BRS government and its “greed for commissions”, alleged Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy.
In a press statement issued on Saturday, Uttam countered the claims made by BRS MLA and former irrigation minister T Harish Rao while making a PowerPoint presentation on Kaleshwaram earlier in the day.
Uttam said that only 162 tmcft water was lifted from Godavari from Kaleshwaram in five years. The BRS termed Medigadda as the “heart” of Kaleshwaram and though its construction was completed in 2019, officials lifted only 61 tmcft in 2019–20, 31.82 tmcft in 2020–21, 33 tmcft in 2021–22, 25.97 tmcft in 2022–23 and 8.93 tmcft in 2023–24, a total of 162 tmcft, he said. During the flood season in these five years, around 63 tmcft water went waste into the sea. How was the BRS government able to provide irrigation to 22 lakh acres with just 99 tmcft, he wondered.
“In July, 2022 the Annaram pump house was submerged in water. In the same year, all the motors of the Kannepalli (Medigadda) pump house were damaged. In that year, officials could lift only 25 tmcft,” Uttam said and recalled that the piers of Medigadda sank on October 21, 2023.
While Farakka barrage was constructed with a rock foundation to divert Ganga waters, three barrages in Kaleshwaram were constructed to divert funds, he alleged.
The minister recalled that a huge rally with elephants was taken out during the BRS regime after the KCR government signed an agreement with Maharashtra to construct a barrage at Tummidihetti. However, it was later shifted to Medigadda as they thought they could not get money if Tummidihetti barrage was constructed, he added.
Uttam also informed Harish that Sriramsagar, Yellampali, Lower Manair, Upper Manair and Singur projects were constructed by previous Congress governments. “The Congress government spent Rs 6,156 crore on Pranahitha-Chevella project before the formation of the state. Till 2016, the total amount spent on Pranahitha-Chevella was Rs 11,679 crore,” he said.
‘Apologise to people’
Blaming former CM K Chandrasekhar Rao as well as Harish squarely for the failure of the Kaleshwaram project, Uttam demanded that the duo tender an unconditional apology to the people. “Without seeking an apology, Harish is shamelessly attacking the Congress government,” he said. Uttam reiterated that the Central Water Commission never said that there was no water at Tummidihetti. “The claim of the BRS was a big lie,” he added.
Stating that the estimated cost of Tummidihetti barrage was `38,000 crore, Uttam said that had it been completed, 17 lakh acres would have been irrigated by now and an amount of Rs 2,000 crore could have been saved.
The construction of Palamuru-Rangareddy, Kalwakurthy, Nettempadu, Bima, SLBC, Dindi, Sitarama, Devadula and Indiramma flood flow canal could have been completed by this time with Rs 62,000 crore savings, he said.
The minister said that the government was paying Rs 16,000 crore towards interest for the loans taken by the BRS government for the construction of the irrigation projects.