Rythu Sangham Seeks All-Party Meet on Irrigation Projects
Prabhakara Reddy questioned how the Chief Minister and Water Resources Development minister could announce the completion of 36 projects within the next two years without allocating funds for them
KAKINADA: Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham state secretary K. Prabhakara Reddy has demanded that the state government convene an all-party meeting on the irrigation projects proposed by the Centre and release funds for completing small and medium irrigation projects across the state.
Addressing reporters in Eluru on Thursday, he said the government should also formulate a clear state water policy.
Prabhakara Reddy questioned how the Chief Minister and Water Resources Development minister could announce the completion of 36 projects within the next two years without allocating funds for them.
He said merely setting targets for completing irrigation projects was insufficient and that a concrete action plan was needed to achieve the goal.
He pointed out that the government had failed to complete the Veligonda and Chintalapudi lift irrigation projects, which had remained stalled midway. Despite this, he said, the government was announcing large-scale projects such as the Godavari-Banakacharla irrigation project at a cost of `80,000 crore and a proposal to link the Godavari and Kaveri rivers.
Prabhakara Reddy urged the Chief Minister to focus on completing irrigation projects in North Andhra, Rayalaseema and other backward regions. He also demanded immediate completion of the Chintalapudi lift irrigation project.
He said the Centre had issued certain directives to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana regarding irrigation projects and stressed that the state government should ensure that the interests of Andhra Pradesh and the farming community were protected.
The Rythu Sangham leader demanded that the government convene a meeting with political parties, farmers’ associations and irrigation experts to discuss the projects.
Sangham associate secretary K. Srinivas said the Chintalapudi lift irrigation project had been neglected for the past two years. He demanded proper compensation for farmers who had lost land for the project and sought removal of acquired lands from the blacklist.
He also urged the government to complete the Tadipudi lift irrigation scheme and provide irrigation water to Dwaraka Tirumala and Denduluru mandals.
Srinivas warned that the Rythu Sangham would launch a large-scale agitation if the government failed to address their demands.
