By Kraanti Veer
With Maharashtra Impounding Godavari Water, Telangana May Dry Up
Notwithstanding the Congress government’s broadside against the illegal construction of Babli project by Maharashtra, the future of lift irrigation (LI) projects being constructed on the banks of the river Godavari in Nizamabad and neighbouring districts is in a quandary.
With Maharashtra utilising every drop of water by constructing small and medium projects across the Godavari, 19 LI projects in north Telangana would be hit hard. Of the 19 projects Alisagar and Guthpa have been completed, while Pranahita-Chevella, Choutpalli Hanumantha Reddy and Jalalpur projects are under progress.
Irrigation experts said there was no point in bragging about spending crores of rupees on LI projects to irrigate cultivable land in Telangana districts when serious questions are being raised about availability of Godavari water what with Maharashtra impounding all the waters.
Irrigation department sources told HNN that Pranahita-Chevella — the biggest of them all — would be worst-hit as water for the project was proposed to be lifted from Sri Ram Sagar Project (SRSP). The future of SRSP itself looks bleak once Maharashtra completes Babli and 11 other projects.
Superintendent engineer (LI projects) L Rajeshwar Reddy said SRSP — the lifeline of six Telangana districts — would be facing severe hardships once all the Maharashtra projects were constructed. As part of the YSR government’s much-touted Jalayagnam, Alisagar and Guthpa were constructed at a cost of Rs 250 crore and Rs 183 crore respectively to supply water to 92,585 acres in the tail-end areas of Nizamsagar project. “But with Maharashtra going all-out, these LI projects would go without water,” a senior official reasoned.
The Pranahita-Chevella project, for which the CM would lay the foundation stone at Kamareddy on December 14, is to draw 25 tmcft of water from SRSP to supply water to 3.04 lakh acres in Kamareddy and surrounding droughtprone areas. “How would the government promise to construct the project when the SRSP would go dry since Babli project would impound all the river water?” an irrigation expert asked.
Rajeshwar said Maharashtra is all set to draw at least 40 tmcft of water through the 12 projects. “The storage capacity of SRSP would automatically come down to 50 tmcft from 90 tmcft and in future, it would not be able to supply water to Telangana districts through its Laxmi, Saraswathi and Kakatiya canals,” he stressed.
The AP government has also planned a flood-flow canal as part of the second phase works of SRSP at a cost of Rs 3,500 crore to provide water to 2.2 lakh acres in Karimnagar, Warangal, Nalgonda and Khammam districts. “It looks like a distant dream since the Godavari water would be diverted to the Maharashtra projects,” the expert reasoned.
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