Hyderabad: The Opposition parties are gearing up to corner the TRS government for initiating new major irrigation projects while ignoring work on incomplete schemes.
The Congress, TD and the BJP are focusing on the Pranahita-Chevella lift irrigation scheme that was proposed during the Congress regime but now is being sidelined after Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao modified the plan to begin it from Kaleswaram in Karimnagar district instead of Adilabad as originally proposed.
“The Pranahita-Chevella scheme has approvals from the Centre and work is going on. Suddenly the Chief Minister is bringing up the Kaleswaram scheme,” said Congress Legislature Party deputy leader T. Jeevan Reddy.
“If he wants to augment water supply, he can go ahead with the construction of another barrage at Kaleswaram but he cannot detract from the scheme,” he said, adding, “already there is an uproar in Adilabad district over this.”
Discontent is brewing in Mahbubnagar district over the Chief Minister opting for the new Palamuru-Ranga Reddy lift scheme instead of completing the four ongoing projects including Bhima and Kalwakurthy lift scheme.
“The people are agitated. Rs 1,000 crore would be more than sufficient to complete all the ongoing projects, more than 45 TMC ft of Krishna water can be put to use,” said BJP leader Nagam Janardhan Reddy.
TD legislator A. Revanth Reddy said that the Chief Minister was going ahead despite serious objections from farmers in 30 villages that will be submerged by the new scheme. He said the Opposition parties would start an agitation.
Asked about this, major irrigation minister T. Harish Rao said the government was completing ongoing schemes but was committed to beginning new projects to make use of the Krishna and Godavari waters.
“As far as my knowledge goes, the Centre has not given any clearances for the Pranahita-Chevella scheme due to objections from Maharashtra. That was why the Chief Minister ordered a re-survey to identify a permanent of water near Kaleswaram. We have not finalised it.”
He said that once the government gets the survey report, it would take the consent of the opposition parties on Kaleswaram. “We will see that Adilabad district is not deprived, we can continue the Pranahita scheme by linking it with Pen Ganga without causing submergence in Maharashtra,” Mr Harish Rao said.
