Telangana: Kavitha slams government over Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme delays

BRS MLC questions CM Revanth Reddy’s negligent approach towards its legal issues

Hyderabad: Accusing the Congress government of keeping the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Project in cold storage for the past 14 months and failing to secure necessary clearances, BRS leader and MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha on Thursday criticised Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy for the negligent approach adopted towards its legal issues.

Minister of State for Jal Shakti Rajbhushan Choudhary in reply to an unstarred question in Lok Sabha had indicated that national status for the Palamuru-Rangareddy LI Project cannot be granted until the Krishna water allocations are finalised by the KWDT-II. Kavitha criticised this stance, highlighting the lack of support for the project and questioning the commitment of Revanth Reddy towards the issue.

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She recalled that under the leadership of the BRS chief K Chandrashekhar Rao environmental approvals were secured. But the current administration had failed to address ongoing legal issues to complete the project. She highlighted the planning for drawing 90 TMC of water from Krishna River by implementing the lift irrigation project and the serious efforts made during the BRS regime to ensure the project’s success.

Due to the inability of the present government to push the final clearances by mounting pressure in the Centre, they have become complex. The Minister of State for Jal Shakti had made it clear that no national project status was in consideration for any lift scheme either in Telangana or in Andhra Pradesh. The techno-economic appraisal by the Central Water Commission for the Palamuru Rangareddy lift scheme, one of its pre-requisites for final clearances, cannot be taken up as the interstate aspects of the project were included in the terms of reference of the KWDT-II.