HYDERABAD: Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Saturday directed officials to work out technically sound and practical solutions to address the concerns raised by the Maharashtra government over the proposed Tummidihatti barrage, particularly those related to land submergence and environmental impact.
He asked officials to examine the engineering aspects and explore ways to minimise environmental impact while addressing Maharashtra’s concerns without compromising the project’s irrigation objectives.
Uttam reviewed the technical aspects and proposed alignments of the Tummidihatti project. He stressed the need for a detailed assessment of the land likely to be affected at different reservoir levels.
The review followed the recent discussions between Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai on October 26.
The minister directed officials to prepare detailed maps identifying riverbed areas, forests, eco-sensitive zones, protected core areas, revenue lands and habitations to determine the actual extent of submergence.
Telangana is seeking to increase the proposed barrage’s full reservoir level (FRL) from 148 metres to 152 metres to improve water storage and utilisation. The proposal was also discussed at the meeting between the two chief ministers.
The Tummidihatti barrage is designed to divert 77 TMC feet of water and support irrigation across 5.85 lakh acres in seven districts. It will form part of an integrated system involving the Sundilla barrage and Sripada Yellampalli project.
At the proposed FRL of 152 metres, the barrage’s storage capacity would increase to 5.697 TMC feet from 2.182 TMC feet at 148 metres, more than doubling its storage potential.
The project assessment indicates that submergence would be minimal and that rehabilitation and resettlement requirements could be addressed in both Telangana and Maharashtra, even at the proposed 152-metre level.
Irrigation Secretary E Sridhar and Engineer-in-Chief (General) OV Ramesh Babu attended the review meeting.
