Telangana CM urges centre to resolve Tungabhadra water row

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday, June 25, urged the Union government to resolve the utilization of the state’s rightful share of water from the Tungabhadra project and to facilitate coordination among the stakeholder states.

Revanth Reddy, who held a review of the Tungabhadra project, RDS, and inter-state river water disputes here, said Telangana is entitled 15.9 TMC share of water from Tungabhadra river. However, he expressed concern that the current inflow was not exceeding five to six TMC of water, a release from the CMO said.

The RDS (RajoliBanda Diversion Scheme), required water for irrigation of 83,987 acres of ayacut in approximately 75 villages in Jogulamba Gadwal district, he said.

In view of the involvement of three states, the CM requested that the Tungabhadra Board be strengthened under the aegis of the Central Water Commission (CWC) to ensure the efficient utilization of water shares among Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka.

Reddy noted that the RDS ayacut has become unsafe and stressed necessary safety-related works be identified expeditiously.

Reviewing the modernization of the RajoliBanda Diversion Canal, he said that the Telangana government has already deposited Rs 59 crore and yet the works remain incomplete. Officials briefed the Chief Minister that while works under Packages-Three and Four have been finished, those under Packages One and Two have not yet commenced.

Reddy decided to raise the issue of the stalled works for the first two packages during the meeting with three Chief Ministers, chaired by the Union Minister for Jal Shakti on Thursday, the release said.

The irrigation officials also brought to the Chief Minister’s attention that water diversion at RDS is not proceeding at expected levels due to heavy siltation on the Telangana side.

The expert committee had recommended the desilting in 2004, but those recommendations have not yet been implemented. The meeting decided to request the Centre to take immediate action on desilting and also seek the Karnataka government’s cooperation since the silted area lies in the neighbouring state, the release added.

A representation will also be submitted to the Centre requesting the implementation of the 2004 expert committee’s suggestions alongside the desilting work.

CM Revanth Reddy advised the officials to compare the findings of the earlier report with the current ground reality and ordered them to prepare a comprehensive report immediately. The officials were also instructed to explore alternatives for maximizing water utilization under the Tungabhadra Lift Irrigation Scheme. The CM ordered an increase in the capacity of the Mallammakunta Balancing Reservoir—a crucial component for utilizing water from Thummilla and the work should be executed quickly.

The meeting was attended by Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy and other senior officials from the Irrigation Department.