Telangana to irrigate 45 lakh acres this season

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday explained to the authorities of the irrigation and electricity departments that the state government aimed to provide water to 45 lakh acres by lifting 540 to 600 TMC of water a year for both Kharif and Rabi seasons through the Kaleshw-aram Lift Irrigation project.

He said the power needed for lift irrigation schemes would be paid by the government as a special grant.

Mr Rao was reviewing the Kaleshwaram project with senior officials of the departments concerned at Pragathi Bhavan. He instructed the officials to be prepared to supply the additional power from July this year.  Mr Rao said that an additional 3,800 MW was required for lifting 2 TMC water during this year and it would require additional 6.11 MW power would be required from the next Kharif season to lift 3 TMC water per day.

The Chief Minister directed the authorities to ensure that the power is supplied round the clock for six months in a year, when there will be full flow of water in river Godavari. He also suggested that they explore the possibility of producing hydel power through lift irrigation schemes.

Mr Rao said that TS’ share of water in the Godavari was 954 TMC and the government has all required clearances for utilising it. He asked officials to prepare a scientific estimate of the quantum of water available in a particular month and also the power required for drawing the water.