For the Sammakka-Sarakka barrage, Uttam Kumar Reddy said the project required 44 tmc ft of water a year from Godavari
Hyderabad: Telangana has urged the Central Water Commission (CWC) to expedite water allocation to the Palamuru-Rangareddy lift irrigation scheme (PRLIS) and the Sammakka-Sarakka barrage projects, with irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy asking for 134 tmc ft of water for the two projects.
At a meeting with CWC chairman Atul Jain in New Delhi on Wednesday, Uttam Kumar Reddy said Telangana had complied with all of CWC’s procedural and documentation requirements for the projects. To start with, Uttam Kumar Reddy urged CWC for an immediate allocation of 45 tmc ft for PRLIS, which can lift 2 tmc ft of water a day from the Krishna and provide irrigation and drinking water to Mahbubnagar, Nagarkurnool, Vikarabad, Rangareddy, and Nalgonda districts. The scheme can draw water for 60 days during the flood season using a series of five pumping stations.
For the Sammakka-Sarakka barrage, Uttam Kumar Reddy said the project required 44 tmc ft of water a year from Godavari. This 6.94 tmc ft capacity project, at Thupakulagudem in Mulugu district, is designed to stabilise irrigation for around 5.55 lakh hectares, and supply drinking water to several villages.
The minister also asked the CWC to assist Telangana with conducting a comprehensive geotechnical and structural review and to advise on corrective measures to restore and safeguard the Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla barrages of the Kaleshwaram project as suggested by the National Dam Safety Authority in its report on the barrages.
Uttam Kumar Reddy, after the meeting, said he also discussed the issue of illegal diversion of Krishna river water by Andhra Pradesh, and the potential threat to Telangana from the backwaters of AP’s Polavaram project. He said the CWC chairman responded positively and assured that the commission will act promptly on the issues discussed on Wednesday.
