The Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) would be conducting public hearing for the proposed Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme (KLIS) at Kannepally village in Mahadevpur mandal on September 24, at Garepally village of Kataram mandal in Jayashankar Bhupalapally mandal (formerly Karimnagar district).
The KLIS envisages lifting of 4.5 tmcs of Godavari waters from Kannepally pump house to fill 14 minor irrigation tanks in four mandals viz Mahadevpur, Kataram, Tadicherla (Malhar Rao) and Mahamutharam to provide irrigation sources to 18,211 hectares benefitting 63 villages. The project aims at supplying drinking water to all the villages enroute by utilising 0.3 tmcs of water.
The project was proposed by the Congress government under the leadership of the then government whip D. Sridhar Babu at ₹499. 23 crore. This scheme was supposed to accelerate development in the naxalite-affected mandals in the region. It requires 29 MWs of power. The project would take up lift and gravity methods to provide irrigation to the upland regions.
The proposed project has been accorded administrative sanctions under GO MS 220 dated October 11, 2007 and revised administrative approval under GO MS number 158 dated July 30, 2008. The project requires diversion of 258.028 hectares of forest land for laying pipelines for which stage-II forest clearance has been accorded by the Ministry of Environment on December 27, 2017.
The KLIS is different from the Sate government’s ambitious Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project (KLIP). The barrage location of KLIP is located at Medigadda which is 32.25 km from the proposed Kaleshwaram lift irrigation scheme (KLIS).