Completion of Sitarama LIS: Long way to go

The lift irrigation scheme has in all four pump houses. Only two of the six pumps, each one of 25 MW capacity, were ready and one of them completed the trial run successfully on Thursday.

Hyderabad: The Sitarama Lift Irrigation Project, a major initiative aimed at enhancing irrigation facilities in the three districts of Bhadradri Kothagudem, Khammam and Mahabubabad by lifting Godavari water, has drawn a blank so far.

Even after spending over Rs.7,700 crore, not a drop of water could be given to the proposed ayacut so far. The State government has added an additional component to the project by linking it with the Nagarjuna Sagar Project (NSP) Left Canal. This linkage facility, which would cost Rs.100 crore is intended to provide water to an ayacut of 1.6 lakh acres under the Wyra project in Khammam district. The ongoing works on the link canals of the project are yet to gain momentum.

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They were expected to be completed by now, but in some stretches, the works were progressing on a tardy pace. The process for land acquisition is yet to gather pace, as it is linked to payment of dues to the land oustees. The completion of works on the four pump houses and canal system would facilitate the much-awaited release of water to a new ayacut. The lift irrigation scheme has in all four pump houses. Only two of the six pumps, each one of 25 MW capacity, were ready and one of them completed the trial run successfully on Thursday.

The Sitarama project, which was being implemented at a cost of Rs 18,000 crore, has a long way to go for completion. The works on the project have witnessed no major headway, for want of resource support. Of late, the project has lacked the special priority accorded to it by the previous BRS regime.

The project implementation has faced several hurdles. The Benefit-Cost Ratio was one of them. The irrigation authorities have established that the BCR stands at 1.60 and the benefits of the project would outweigh the costs. Financial Internal Rate of Return (IRR) was also projected to be 18.47 per cent. Now that the project has overcome major feasibility hurdles, its final clearances have to be rushed through.