Hyderabad: Telangana Irrigation and Civil Supplies minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Sunday announced a special initiative to fast-track key irrigation projects aimed at benefiting farmers in the erstwhile Mahbubnagar district and other parts of south Telangana.
He said the government would extend required financial and administrative support to complete the works on priority.
PRLIS to be operational in 20 months
Reviewing the progress of irrigation projects in the region, the minister pledged to make the Palamuru–Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) fully operational within the next 20 months.
He asserted that the State government would ensure full utilisation of Telangana’s entitlement to river waters, a press release informed.
Uttam Kumar Reddy also set a target of completing the Kalwakurthy, Nettempadu, Bhima and Koilsagar projects by March 2027. Specific allocations have been proposed for the next year, including Rs 909 crore for Kalwakurthy, Rs 252 crore for Nettempadu, Rs 200 crore for Bhima and Rs 185 crore for Koilsagar.
Land acquisition and funding push
To speed up the works, the government is fast-tracking land acquisition and rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) processes. Quoting chief minister A Revanth Reddy, the minister said Rs 5,000 crore would be released by June 2 to complete land acquisition for key irrigation projects across the State.
Criticism of previous regime
The Minister alleged that the projects were neglected during the BRS government’s tenure since 2014. He criticised decisions such as shifting the PRLIS off-take point from Jurala to Srisailam, which he said increased lifting costs and reduced benefits to farmers.
He said administrative approval of Rs 35,200 crore was granted earlier for PRLIS, but only about Rs 27,000 crore was spent with minimal results. The project cost has now escalated significantly and may reach Rs 80,000 crore, including distributary networks.
Jurala Desilting planned
Uttam Kumar Reddy also directed officials to immediately take up desilting of the Priyadarshini Jurala project to restore its original storage capacity of 11.94 TMC, which has declined to around 9 TMC due to siltation over the past three decades.
He reiterated that the Congress government remains committed to ensuring reliable irrigation and improved agricultural productivity in the Krishna basin.
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