Uttam Plans Kaleshwaram Briefing for Legislators

Hyderabad: After making a detailed presentation on the Polavaram (Godavari)-Banakacharla link project to MLAs, MPs and elected representatives to counter the criticism of BRS, irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy is now preparing a similar briefing on the controversial Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS).

Sources said Uttam Kumar Reddy would deliver a comprehensive presentation covering the technical, financial and structural aspects of KLIS. The timing aligns with the expected submission of the Justice P.C. Ghose Commission's report on the condition of the three KLIS barrages by the end of July.

The presentation will focus on how the then BRS government redesigned the Pranahita-Chevella scheme into KLIS. Prior to Telangana’s formation, the Congress government had planned to lift water from Tummidihatti on the Pranahita river and channel it to the Sripada Yellampalli reservoir. Under the BRS-led redesign, three barrages—Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla—were constructed, and water was pumped upstream to the Yellampalli reservoir.

KLIS has remained in the spotlight ever since structural damage was reported in the Medigadda barrage in October 2023. The partial sinking of its piers has triggered a political war of words between the Congress and BRS, with both parties trading blame over corruption and engineering lapses in the project.