Nellore: Delay in acquiring 1,200 hectares of forest land and 263 hectares of wild-life sanctuary land has been seriously affecting the progress of Somasila Swarnamukhi Link Canal (SSLC), which is component of Telugu Ganga Project.
The project, designed to provide irrigation facilities to 1.25 lakh acres and drinking water to 2.50 lakh population in both both Nellore and Chittoor districts, commenced about a decade back but lying incomplete due to forest land clearance problems.
Though the government is ready to fulfill the conditions such as offering equal extent of land and net present value, there was no reaction from the high level committee at the Centre since long.
In fact the irrigation wing waited for 25 years to obtain forest clearance to 313 hectares for branch canals under Telugu Ganga project in the past. The permission came only last year.
After coming to know this the CM during a re-view on SSLC at Tirupati last year, instructed the officials to prepare alternate plan. Taking a cue from the CM, the Telugu Ganga wing put off the work pertaining to the project.
According to Superintendent Engineer of Telugu Ganga Project V. Koteswar Rao, the alternate proposal to construct a balancing reservoir at Althurpadu with storage capacity of 1.018 tmc.ft at an estimated cost of Rs 114 crore and co-mbined balancing reservoirs at Rajupalem and Panguru to store 0.600 tmc.ft at an estimated cost of Rs 189.90 crore was submitted to the government. This is in addition to proposals worth Rs 126 crore for 11 inlets into SSLC and tank improvement.
Mr Koteswar Rao expressed confidence in the government approval for the new proposals. Besides irrigation facility, the new proposals would quench the thirst of the denizens of Tirupati City, Srikalahasti, Yerpedu and Renigunta
towns apart from villages enroute in Chittoor district.
