The Telangana government has decided to construct a slew of irrigation projects to set up hurdles to diversion of Krishna river water by Andhra Pradesh.
One of them will be construction of a barrage near Alampur to divert 60 to 70 tmc ft water by pipeline. The barrage will come up within the limits of four villages -- Gummadam, Gondimalla, Velaturu and Pedda Maruru -- between Gadwal and Wanaparthy districts. The water will be used to fill Edula reservoir which was part of Palamaru - Ranga Reddy lift-irrigation scheme, it was decided at the Cabinet meeting presided by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday.
Further, the left canal of Pulichintala project will be constructed to irrigate two lakh acres in Nalgonda and Suryapet districts. Another one lakh acres will be irrigated in Nadigadda area by a lift-irrigation scheme from Sunkesula reservoir. A flood flow canal of Bheema, a tributary of Krishna, will be constructed at the point where the river entered Telangana at Kusumarthi village of Krishna mandal.
A lift-irrigation project will be constructed to on the tail-pond of Nagarjunasagar to irrigate two lakh acres. The Cabinet ordered the irrigation department to take up surveys and prepare detailed project reports.
It was also decided to take up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Water Resources Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat the illegal irrigation projects constructed by Andhra Pradesh government on the Krishna.
The government will submit memoranda to both of them seeking to stop these projects and also highlight the over-exploitation of river water in courts of law.
The Cabinet strongly condemned the work on Rayalaseema lift irrigation scheme and right canal of Rajolibanda Diversion Scheme (RDS) by AP government. The work was asked to be stopped by the National Green Tribunal and the Central government, yet AP government went ahead with it.
The meeting also deplored the Central indifference to constitution of a river water tribunal after the State government withdrew its case in Supreme Court demanding larger share of water in river. The Centre had offered to expedite constitution of the tribunal if the State government withdrew the case but it did not happen.
The Cabinet also expressed its unhappiness that the Centre did not extend a helping hand to the State and, on top, adopted an attitude of negligence in the matter of river water disputes. Therefore, it was decided to go to any extent to protect the interests of farmers.
