Notification issued for public hearing on Telangana's Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme

HYDERABAD: Notification has been issued for conducting a public hearing on Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) to get environmental clearance for the project, so that the Telangana government can draw water from the Krishna river.

According to the notification, the PRLIS is expected to draw 90 tmcft of flood water in 60 days to irrigate 12.30 lakh acres in Nagarkurnool, Rangareddy, Narayanpet, Mahbubnagar, Vikarabad and Nalgonda districts. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 32,500 crore.

The public hearings will be conducted at Hanwad MPP office in Mahbubnagar district, Parigi in Vikarabad district, Veldanda in Nagarkurnool district and at Narayanpet, on August 10.

According to sources, 70 per cent of land acquisition works for the project have been completed. The authorities have proposed to set up 34 pumps at five lifts in PRLIS. The capacity of the pumps would be 145 MW, higher than the ones used for the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS). However, the construction of PRLIS has been delayed.

The first phase of the project is expected to complete by July, 2022. "In total, 60 per cent of the project works have been completed till date. We are yet to start the electric works. We are expecting that the first benefits of PRLIS will be delivered to farmers by July, 2022," an official said.

With the AP going ahead with the Rayalaseema LIS, the Telangana government too is striving hard to complete the PRLIS at the earliest.