Congress to make Pranahita-Chevella project an extension of Kaleshwaram

The Congress government plans to revive the Pranahita-Chevella project by merging it with Kaleshwaram. The redesigned plan bypasses coal zones in Adilabad, reduces costs by Rs 2,000 crore, and uses existing Kaleshwaram lifts for water transfer from Thummidi Hatti to Yellampalli

Hyderabad: The flagship irrigation initiative of former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, is once again proving to be an indispensable lifeline for Telangana, with the Congress government set to integrate the long-stalled Pranahita-Chevella project into the Kaleshwaram project. All that remains is final approval from the Cabinet, according to sources in the Irrigation Department.

The move comes after a long brainstorming over redesigning the original Pranahita-Chevella plan, first envisioned under the previous Congress regime to deliver 160 tmcft of Godavari water to north Telangana. Now, it is being recast as an extension of the Kaleshwaram project, with the original Pranahita-Chevella layout serving as another arm of the larger network.

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Under the new design, water will be piped from Thummidi Hatti to the Yellampalli reservoir via Kaleshwaram’s Sundilla barrage. Technical experts have cleared it in principle.

Two crucial factors have driven this realignment. First, it would help avoid fragile coal-rich zones along the Pranahita river’s path, particularly in Adilabad district’s upper stretches and areas near Maharashtra-Telangana border. Geological investigations and basin mapping have flagged key coalfields in proximity to the originally planned route for the Pranahita-Chevella project. Rerouting through safer corridors would not only prevent construction headaches but also mitigate environmental issues. A cluster of coal hotspots in Adilabad’s northern reaches are part of the fragile zone to be taken care of while implementing such a massive irrigation project. This is an active mining hub under Singareni Collieries and it holds vast reserves and lies directly along Pranahita’s upper flow.

By avoiding these coal belts, planners can sidestep the need to blast through them, preserving both the mines’ future and the project’s timeline.

Integrating the Pranahita-Chevella (Sujala Sravanthi) with the Kaleshwaram project also skips the need for a new pumping station. Initial plans called for a 50-kilometre lift from Mylaram village straight to Yellampalli. That is no longer part of the current Pranahita-Chevella blueprint.

Instead, a more efficient 35-km gravity canal and tunnel setup will take water to the Sundilla barrage. From there, it will tap into the Kaleshwaram project’s existing lifts for the final push, a move that would save up to Rs 2,000 crore, according to department sources. The shift marks a U-turn for the Congress, which kept criticising the Kaleshwaram project as a “white elephant” while in Opposition. It had also launched a hostile campaign against the project, especially targeting its three barrages, Sundilla, Annaram, and Medigadda, over the past 22 months after coming to power.

It has now taken a U-turn, particularly on the utility of the Sundilla component, to breathe life into the Pranahita-Chevella project, which has lain dormant since interstate water-sharing disputes with Maharashtra stalled barrages like Thummidi Hatti.