Final Decision on Singur Kicked Down the Road

Hyderabad: The safety works for the stricken Singur dam, which requires urgent repairs, will follow a measured approach that will ‘balance’ the need for urgent repairs to the dam to ensure its survival, and keep the drinking water supply to Hyderabad, and to other districts under the Mission Bhagiratha programme, as long as possible.

A technical committee set up by the government on Singur dam safety has recommended that against the required depletion of the reservoir to 510 metres, water will be reduced to 517.5 metres. Once this level is reached, a further examination of the damaged dam will be conducted.

After that, a final decision will be taken on whether reducing the water storage to 510 metres will be required. This recommendation to maintain level at 517.5 metres for the 2025-26 water year will be communicated to the government.

The seven-member technical committee that met on Wednesday saw divergent points of view with the irrigation department making it clear that it could not compromise on the dam’s safety and would need full depletion of the reservoir, while water board and MB officials maintained that without Singur water, they would not be able to supply drinking water.

It is learnt that HMWS&SB, and MB officials practically threw up their hands declaring that if the committee recommended full depletion, there would be a drinking water crisis in Hyderabad, as well as in erstwhile unified Medak and Nizamabad districts.

While Hyderabad gets around 6.96 tmc ft per year from Singur, Nizamabad and Medak districts use around 5.7 tmc ft from the reservoir each year under the Mission Bhagiratha scheme.

Mission Bhagiratha engineer-in-chief Krupakar Reddy sought to know if temporary bunds could be built to allow examination of the damage to the dam without reducing water level to 510 metres. He is also learnt to have told the meeting that it would cost Rs.150 crore or more to supply drinking water through tankers to MB areas and even this will be full of challenges as the distances involved will be very long.

D. Sudarshan, HMWS&SB member (technical), told the committee that the board did not have any alternative water sources if supplies from Singur were stopped. The board would not be in any position to supply water through tankers, the demand for which will rise dramatically. The board would lose around Rs.20 crore a month in revenues as long as Singur supplies are not available.

The water board, and MB officials also said that the only alternative was to get Kaleshwaram project water from Mallannasagar reservoir, but since the works connecting MB and the board’s supplies will take at least a year, the irrigation department should consider alternative means of keeping the Singur dam safe.

It is learnt that irrigation engineer-in-chief (general) Amjad Hussain, who is also the chairman of the committee, made it clear that there was an “urgency” to deplete water at the Singur dam, and that the department was being asked frequently by the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) on the steps being taken to save the dam.

This was also echoed by the chief engineer of the department’s Central Designs Organisation M. Satyanarayana Reddy who made it clear that any comprehensive rehabilitation work could be taken up only if the water was depleted up to the crest level of 510.600 metre. Unless this was done, it would not even be possible to assess the damage. Stressing that the “dam is in a distressed condition,” the official said no repair or even assessment of damages will stand without proper investigations which will require the full required depletion of the reservoir.

Singur dam safety

Full reservoir level: 523.63 m

Level on Dec. 4: 520.59 m

Depletion level required for repairs: 510.6 m

Interim decision on depletion: 517.5 m

Next decision after water level at 517.5 m

Who said what

Mission Bhagiratha:

No other alternative source, keep level at 517.6 m

Kaleswharam water through Mallannasagar will take at least a year

Supply through water tankers not possible

Will cost at least Rs.150 crore a year

HMWS&SB:

No other source, keep level at 517.6 m

Kaleswharam water through Mallannasagar will take at least a year

Tanker demand will rise dramatically, board not in a position to meet it

Will cause revenue loss of about Rs.20 crore a month

Irrigation:

Water depletion must till 510.6 m

No damage assessment, repairs possible unless this is done

NDSA chasing department on what was being done to save the dam