HANAMKONDA : In a bid to bring lasting irrigation relief to large parts of the state, Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Saturday announced that the Congress government would complete the J Chokka Rao Devadula Lift Irrigation Scheme in two years. The government, he said, had already allocated funds, cleared land acquisition hurdles and fast-tracked pending works to ensure water supply to farmers in the erstwhile Warangal district, and the Alair and Bhongir regions. “We will complete the Devadula project and provide irrigation to 6 lakh acres in combined Warangal and Bhongir districts,” he said.
Inspecting project works in Dharmasagar mandal with Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy and MLAs Kadiyam Srihari, Yashaswini Reddy and Nayini Rajender Reddy, the minister criticised the previous BRS government for spending Rs 1.81 lakh crore on irrigation “without creating significant ayacut”. He accused the KCR-led regime of inflating estimates, mismanaging execution and pushing the state into debt without results. “The Congress government is correcting that historic blunder,” he said, adding that every rupee now spent would translate into water in the fields.
The minister reviewed the 49.06-km main tunnel under Devadula Phase-III Package-III and visited the Devannapet pump house, where Pump-02 had already pumped water to the Dharmasagar reservoir for 62 hours. Pump-01 would be commissioned by May 31 and Pump-03 by July 31, he said.
To fix tunnel leakages and avoid interference with Mission Bhagiratha pipelines, 110 large steel pipes brought from the Manjeera project were being inserted in three rows, with the work expected to finish by May-end, he said.
The project requires an additional Rs 3,312 crore to irrigate 5.57 lakh acres across nine drought-prone districts.
At Rajavaram village, Uttam reviewed works under the EM-1 tunnel and pump house, where two 4.3 MW pumps will lift 15.3 cumecs of water from Dharmasagar to Ghanpur tank. SCADA works and pressure main encasement are under way, with a 2.8-km approach channel and super passage due by August.
He also reviewed Phase-II RFMC works, sanctioned for `148.76 crore, to strengthen the Ghanpur Main Canal through CC lining and new structures. Earthwork and desilting are in progress.
At the Bhadrakali tank in Warangal, the minister inspected desiltation and flood prevention works. Of the planned 11.5 lakh cubic metres of silt, 2.7 lakh had been removed. Rs 16.11 crore was sanctioned for transporting the rest to government-identified sites. A separate Rs 158 crore flood prevention project is under way, with 5,000 cubic metres of concrete works completed for the outfall regulator. Designs for infall structures and Bondivagu protection walls are pending.
Speaking to the media later, he said Telangana had set a new record in paddy procurement. The government aimed to procure 70.13 lakh metric tonnes this Rabi season, of which 28.58 lakh MT had already reached procurement centres. So far, 3,32,347 farmers had sold 24.43 lakh MT, including 10.32 lakh MT of fine variety. Payments worth Rs 5,664.09 crore were due, of which Rs 3,163.47 crore had been credited. He said payments were being made within 48 hours and that bonuses were being paid even for Rabi produce.