HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday urged Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil to convene a meeting between the Telangana and Maharashtra governments to resolve the long-pending issue of increasing the height of the proposed Tummidihatti barrage on the Pranahita river. During his visit to Delhi, Revanth also met Union Minister for Environment and Forest Bhupender Yadav and sought early environmental clearances for the Palamuru-Rangareddy, Dindi, Seethamma Sagar and Gouravelli irrigation projects.
Responding to Telangana’s request, Patil said a meeting would first be organised under the leadership of the Central Water Commission (CWC) to initiate discussions between officials of Telangana and Maharashtra. He also assured that a meeting between the Irrigation ministers of the two states would be arranged subsequently. Patil acknowledged that the Ministry had received the communication from the Prime Minister’s Office on the Tummidihatti barrage.
Accompanied by Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, Revanth explained the importance of increasing the height of the barrage without causing significant submergence in Maharashtra. He also referred to his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking approvals and the subsequent communication from the PMO forwarding the matter to the Jal Shakti Ministry.
The chief minister informed Patil that the two states had earlier agreed to construct the barrage at a height of 148 metres. He said the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), Pune, had also studied the feasibility of constructing the barrage at heights ranging from 148 to 152 metres.
Quoting the study, the chief minister said: “The study report said that there will be no significant difference in the extent of submergence whether the barrage was built at a height of 148 metres or 152 metres. Further, 50% of the submerged area would lie within the riverbed itself.”
150 metres would allow water supply through gravity, Patil told
Requesting Patil to persuade Maharashtra to agree to a barrage height of 150 to 152 metres, the chief minister said a height of 148 metres would not allow sufficient water supply through gravity. Constructing the barrage at a height of 150 to 152 metres would enable gravity-based water supply, reducing electricity consumption.
Stating that Telangana’s irrigation requirements were increasing, the chief minister requested Patil to convene a meeting between Telangana and Maharashtra at the earliest.
During his meeting with Bhupender Yadav, the chief minister sought environmental clearances for the Palamuru-Rangareddy, Gouravelli, Seethammasagar and Dindi projects. He informed Yadav that the state has already spent `36,437 crore on the Palamuru project, `3,187 crore on the Dindi scheme, `1,835 crore on Seethammasagar and `1,350 crore on Gouravelli, and said delays in clearances were leading to cost escalation.
