HYDERABAD:  The TRS government’s flagship projects, Mission Bhagiratha and Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme, have placed Telangana in an enviable position as far as Net Irrigated Area (NIA) is concerned. While the overall growth of NIA between 2015-19 in India is almost stagnant, Telangana presents a different picture.

The growth of NIA in Telangana for the same period is about 35 per cent. This was revealed by the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) on its website on Thursday. The final report of the Task Force on National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) for 2019-25, which was submitted to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, has highlighted KLIS and Mission Bhagiratha. “Godavari water is being stored via the construction of barrages and reservoirs.

This has saved the government from the hassles of land acquisition and resettlement of people. The world’s largest pumping station has been set up underground, with an 81-km tunnel running between Yellampalli barrage and Mallanna Sagar reservoir. The tunnel can carry 2 tmcft of water continuously,” the report stated.

On the trends in irrigation, the DEA report stated that, “the overall NIA in the country increased at a compounded annual growth rate 2% between fiscals 2015 and 2019, and has remained almost stagnant over the last four years from 47% in fiscal 2015 to 49% in fiscal 2019”. Statistics available with the Telangana agriculture department state that the net irrigated area in Telangana in 2014-15 was 62.46 lakh acres. In 2019-20, it rose to 97.94 lakh acres, an increase of almost 35 per cent.