Telangana CM Revanth Reddy met Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil in Delhi, urging dialogue with Maharashtra for the Tummidihetti barrage and seeking expedited environmental and CWC clearances for several key irrigation projects in the state.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met with Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil in New Delhi on Tuesday, pressing the central government to help clear critical inter-state irrigation hurdles and expedite pending approvals for major water projects in the Krishna and Godavari basins.
Focus on Tummidihetti Barrage
Telangana Chief Minister urged Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil to resolve the proposed construction of the Tummidihetti barrage through a dialogue with the Maharashtra government. Updating the Union minister about the submission of the proposal to construct the Tummidihetti barrage to the Maharashtra government, the Chief Minister requested Patil to facilitate required approvals for the barrage.
Accompanied by State Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and a high-level delegation, the Chief Minister focused heavily on resolving the proposed construction of the Tummidihetti barrage via dialogue with the neighboring government of Maharashtra. Following the delay, the Chief Minister requested the Jal Shakti Minister to expedite the process of entering into an agreement between Telangana and Maharashtra to construct the Tummidihatti barrage at a Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of +152 meters.
CM briefed Patil that constructing the barrage at the level of 152 meters would enable the supply of water to the Yellampalli project through gravity, which also helps to reduce both the electricity consumption and the associated costs for water supply.
Push for Environmental and Project Clearances
Pending environmental clearances for the Telangana projects were reviewed in the meeting. CM Revanth Reddy appealed to the Union Minister to grant environmental clearances for the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS), Dindi Lift Irrigation Scheme (DLIS), Sitarama Sagar Multipurpose Project (SSMP), and Gauravelli reservoirs.
The Chief Minister brought to the attention of Patil the recent announcement of the new guidelines for environmental clearances in the light of the recent Supreme Court verdict and urged the centre to accord approvals to these projects immediately. The Chief Minister briefed the minister that the delay in granting clearances was escalating the construction costs.
Jal Shakti minister was also requested to expedite approval of clearances pending with the Central Water Commission (CWC) for the Sammakka Sagar project. The project’s Detailed Project Report (DPR) had already been submitted to the CWC and sought approvals regarding the irrigation plan and inter-state aspects, the Chief Minister said, informing the Union Minister that discussions were underway with the Chhattisgarh government to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the project.
Expediting Telemetry System Installation
The CM and the Union Minister discussed the pending installation of the telemetry system, which is being undertaken by the Krishna River Management Board ( KRMB), and requested to expedite the works. CM Revanth Reddy informed that the state government had already deposited the required ₹4.15 crore for the first phase of the installation and urged for the swift completion of the installation of systems in the first, second and third phases.
State Minister G. Vivek Venkatswamy, MP Gaddam Vamsi Krishna, MLA Gaddam Vinod, State Government Advisor (Irrigation) Adityanath Das, and CM’s Secretary Manikraj were also present.
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