BRS demands immediate action for expedition of Palamuru Ranga Reddy Lift Irrigation Scheme works

The former Minister criticised the Congress government for stalling the works for over nine months despite repeated promises

Hyderabad: Former Minister S Niranjan Reddy found fault with the Congress government over the delay in completion of the pending works of the Palamuru Ranga Reddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS).

He criticised the Congress government for stalling the works for over nine months despite repeated promises. He demanded the State government to immediately resume the works and complete the irrigation project.

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In a statement, Niranjan Reddy questioned the priorities of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who himself hails from the Palamuru region. “Even after nine months in office, there has been no review on the project either by the Chief Minister or the Irrigation Minister. With a significant inflow of 3.88 lakh cusecs and 732 TMC of floodwater over 50 days, only 22 TMCs were utilised here,” he said.

Niranjan Reddy accused the Congress of neglecting construction of reservoirs under the Kalwakurthy Lift Irrigation Scheme, which could have prevented the wastage of floodwater.

He said only 3.9 TMC water is being stored to cater to the needs of 3.5 lakh acres of ayacut. He pointed out that crucial reservoirs like Narlapur, Vattem, and Yedula were constructed as part of the Palamuru Ranga Reddy project during the BRS tenure, despite numerous legal challenges and alleged conspiracies.

The former Minister said had the Congress government taken swift action, water storage at Vattem and Yedula reservoirs would have been possible this year. He also expressed concern about the Vattem pump house being submerged in floodwaters due to a lack of proper monitoring.

He demanded immediate attention to the project, warning that negligence would continue to cost the region valuable water resources, especially during heavy floods.