NSP Committee Urges Early Completion Of Chintalapudi Lift Scheme
Project committee competent authority and superintending engineer S. Ramachandra Rao said the state government had sanctioned Rs 11.56 crore for canal maintenance works in NTR, Krishna and Eluru districts during 2026-27. The works include desilting canals, strengthening embankments and clearing vegetation to improve water flow. He urged Water Users’ Associations (WUAs) to complete the works on time to ensure irrigation reaches tail-end farmers
VIJAYAWADA: The Nagarjunasagar Left Canal (NSP) project committee has urged the Andhra Pradesh government to expedite the Chintalapudi Lift Irrigation Scheme to stabilise irrigation in the third zone of the left canal command area and address recurring water shortages.
The demand was made at the committee's general body meeting held at Mylavaram under the chairmanship of Kota Veerababu.
Project committee competent authority and superintending engineer S. Ramachandra Rao said the state government had sanctioned Rs 11.56 crore for canal maintenance works in NTR, Krishna and Eluru districts during 2026-27. The works include desilting canals, strengthening embankments and clearing vegetation to improve water flow. He urged Water Users’ Associations (WUAs) to complete the works on time to ensure irrigation reaches tail-end farmers.
Veerababu called for the deployment of outsourced canal workers during the irrigation season and sought joint inspections by irrigation officials and WUA representatives to remove encroachments along canals.
Project committee vice-chairman and state federation of water users’ associations president Alla Venkata Gopala Krishna Rao said the Left Canal irrigates 3.6 lakh acres with an allocation of 32 TMC of water, but only 22 TMC was received from Telangana during the previous season.
He said the Chintalapudi Lift Irrigation Scheme, intended to bring Godavari waters to stabilise irrigation over 2.1 lakh acres, was 70 per cent complete after receiving Rs 4,900 crore during 2014-19. He added that the present NDA government had allocated Rs 430 crore for the project in the 2026-27 Budget. He also sought immediate clearance of bills relating to 107 WUA works executed during 2025-26.
The committee also adopted resolutions seeking relocation of the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) headquarters to Amaravati, greater representation for irrigation body representatives in local governance meetings, and construction of new regulator gates on the left main canal and the Nuzvid branch canal.
