KLIS got all clearances: Centre

Hyderabad: Contradicting the oft-repeated accusations by the Opposition parties, the Union government has asserted that the construction of the prestigious Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) was taken up with all clearances. The physical progress achieved on KLIS till October 31, 2021, is 83.7 per cent. The total command area proposed to be irrigated under the […]

Hyderabad: Contradicting the oft-repeated accusations by the Opposition parties, the Union government has asserted that the construction of the prestigious Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS) was taken up with all clearances. The physical progress achieved on KLIS till October 31, 2021, is 83.7 per cent. The total command area proposed to be irrigated under the project is 18.25 lakh acres. Additionally, stabilisation of an area of 18.82 lakh acres was also envisaged.

This was stated by the Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in Lok Sabha on Thursday. Replying to a question raised by Congress MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy, Shekawath said the Kaleshwaram project was accepted by the Advisory Committee on Irrigation, Flood Control and Multipurpose Projects of the Ministry in June 2018.

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The Minister also told the House that the project was executed by the Telangana government with its own resources. As informed by the State government, tenders for the project were invited on e-procurement platform based on a lump-sum contract system.

The State government has further informed that the total amount of water envisaged to be lifted and supplied from the project is 240 TMC and the new areas in varying proportions of thirteen districts of the State — Karimnagar, Rajanna Sircilla, Siddipet, Medak, Yadadri-Bhongiri, Nalgonda, Sangareddy, Nizamabad, Jagityal, Kamareddy, Nirmal, Medchal, Peddapalli etc., are proposed to be covered under irrigation by the project.

The total cost incurred on KLIS so far was reported to be Rs 80,321.57 crore. The estimated cost of the Kaleshwaram project has been finalised for Rs 80,190.46 crore (price level 2015-16) by the Advisory Committee on Irrigation, Flood Control and Multipurpose Projects of the Ministry in June 2018, at which the benefit-cost ratio worked out to be 1:51.

However, the proposal for subsequent additional components of the project has not been submitted by the State government for consideration by the Advisory Committee. In 2019, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao inaugurated the project, which is stated to be one of the biggest irrigation and drinking water supply projects in the world.

‘No forceful eviction’

Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said the KLIS project was being implemented by the State with its own resources. Responding to a question by Congress MP A Revanth Reddy, he replied the State government informed that there was no forceful eviction of the people affected by the project. Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) centres were also created for project oustees.