Hyderabad: Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Monday, March 3, urged the Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil for a fair share of Krishna river to Telangana.
He, along with the state irrigation minister N Uttam Kumar, met Patil in New Delhi, and discussed that the Krishna River basin covers 70 percent in Telangana while 30 percent in Andhra Pradesh. He urged Patil to decide on Andhra Pradesh projects only after finalising the Telangana share. He also appealed to safeguard the interest of both the Telugu speaking states in Krishna and Godavari river water sharing.
The chief minister also brought the Union minister’s attention regarding the allocation of 66 percent of water to Andhra and 34 percent to Telangana despite most of the Krishna river’s catchment area is covered in Telangana.
During the meeting, Telangana CM briefed Patil about the importance of an immediate installation of telemetry to ascertain the utilization of water from the projects on the Krishna River. He assured Patil the Telangana government is willing to bear the cost.
CM Revanth assured the Union minister Patil of the submission of the detailed project report (DPR) for the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Project to the Centre in 2022. He pointed out the subsequent delay in approving by the Centre.
He also mentioned that while permissions were granted for the Upper Bhadra project, which is currently under judicial review, approvals for the Sitarama Lift Irrigation Project and Sammakka Sagar Barrages remain pending.
Telangana CM urged Patil to expedite the necessary clearances from the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the Technical Advisory Board (TAC) for all three projects.
The CM Revanth appealed to Union minister Patil for adequate financial assistance under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit program (AIBP) for Palamuru-Ranga Reddy, Sitarama Lift Irrigation Scheme, Modi Kunta Vagu, Chanaka Korata Barrage (Distribution System), Chinna Kaleshwaram (Mukteshwar) Lift Irrigation Schemes.
He urged Patil to provide interest-free loans to Telangana for 50 years under infrastructure development for irrigation projects.
He also demanded permission from the Maharashtra state government to take up the construction of the project at Tummidihatti under the Pranahita-Chevella project.
