Hyderabad: The Telangana government is “cost-efficient alternatives” to revive the Pranahita–Chevella project (also known as the Kaleshwaram project), said state irrigation minister. During a meeting on Monday, October 27, he stated that the government has studied the feasibility of a revised alignment through the Sundilla Link, which could lower project expenditure by around 10 to 12 per cent.
The new alternative plans could reduce land acquisition by nearly half, and save approximately Rs 1,500 to 1,600 crore when compared to earlier plans for the Pranahita-Chevella or Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project, said Uttam Kumar Reddy. The Telangana minister in a press release said the revised alignment also avoided coal-bearing geological zones that had stalled work on the previous route.
It may be noted that the project was originally conceived by the erstwhile joint Andhra Pradesh Congress government and was named as the Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Pranahita–Chevella irrigation project (at a cost of Rs 40,000 crore). It was to irrigate areas of Telangana which were starved of water. After the creation of Telangana in 2014, under the prior Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government, the project was rechristened as the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation project. Its scope was broadened, along with its costs which shot up to Rs 1 lakh crore.
After the Congress came to power in 2023, it set up a commission to look into alleged irregularities and blamed the BRS, which has so far denied all such allegations.
During Monday’s meeting, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that government’s broader intention is to restructure the long-pending project in a way that ensured technical soundness, fiscal prudence, and environmental responsibility, while fulfilling its original goal of bringing water from the Godavari water to Telangana’s upland and drought-prone regions.
“The revised Sundilla Link was examined as a practical and environment-friendly alternative. It appeared capable of addressing the earlier challenges related to coal-bearing formations while utilising existing infrastructure more efficiently. The Government would take a well-informed decision once the technical and financial evaluations were complete,” he said according to the release.
According to the minister, under the plan drawn up during the previous government’s tenure, water was to be drawn from the Pranahita River at Tummidihatti barrage (in Adilabad district) and carried to Yellampalli barrage through a 71-kilometre canal system. He claimed that the Kaleshwaram project encountered major obstacles when coal seams were detected along the alignment, making tunnelling risky and costly.
Under his new proposal, a direct link between Tummidihatti and Sundilla barrages has been suggested, bypassing the coal zones entirely. “Departmental studies found that this route could prove technically feasible and economically stronger, though a detailed DPR and ground verification were still underway. By shifting the alignment toward Sundilla, several geological difficulties could be avoided. The route might shorten canal and tunnel lengths, simplifying construction and reducing the extent of environmental clearances required,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said.
Officials also informed the Telangana minister that the revised alignment could save Rs 1,500 to 1,600 crores, primarily due to shorter structures, reduced excavation, and reuse of existing pumping infrastructure.
The Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Pranahita–Chevella project, conceived in 2008–09, was designed to utilise around 160 TMC of Godavari water to irrigate nearly 12 lakh acres across Adilabad, Nizamabad, Karimnagar, Medak, and Ranga Reddy districts, while also providing drinking water to Hyderabad and neighbouring areas.
