Telangana mulls 150-metre high Tummidihatti barrage amid Maharashtra objections

The Telangana government has proposed reducing the height of the Tummidihatti barrage to 150 metres to balance water utilisation and minimise submergence in Maharashtra. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy directed officials to prepare proposals, and initiate talks with the Maharashtra government.

Hyderabad: In a bid to construct Tummidihatti barrage, the State government has proposed to reduce its height to 150 metres and improve water utilisation, while reducing submergence in neighbouring Maharashtra. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy directed officials to prepare necessary proposals in this regard.

The proposals were prepared after taking into consideration Maharashtra’s objections to the project’s height at 152 metres, due to extreme submergence in their State. Though Maharashtra did not object to the project height at 148 metres, experts opined that it was not feasible considering the costs involved.

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At a high-level review meeting chaired by Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy, officials and experts said going beyond 152 metres could increase submergence in Maharashtra, while 150 metres would minimise impact and still allow Telangana to utilise around 100 TMCft water from the Godavari River by using existing infrastructure under the Pranahita-Chevella project.

The Chief Minister directed immediate talks with the Maharashtra government and asked officials to convince them by offering necessary compensation. He also asked Uttam Kumar Reddy to seek the intervention of Union Minister G Kishan Reddy to resolve inter-State issues.

Separately, the Chief Minister also asked officials to speed up geo-testing works at the Medigadda barrage and complete repair works before the monsoon.