Telangana: New irrigation law in last stage

Law will help officials prevent encroachment in projects’ land; draft to be submitted to Chief Minister for approval soon

Hyderabad: The new Integrated Irrigation Act, which is being drafted in accordance with the needs of the State by the Irrigation Department, is in the final stage and would shortly be submitted to Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao for approval.

Special Chief Secretary (Irrigation) Rajat Kumar and his team were reportedly giving the final touches to the draft. According to senior Irrigation officials, there are four-five different Irrigation Acts, some of them enacted during the Nizam era and in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, which were now being combined into a comprehensive law to suit the current situation of the State. About 18 existing laws have been codified and a new draft has been prepared to make the new Act more effective, a senior official said.

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The new Comprehensive Irrigation Act would deal with all aspects of the Irrigation Department, including land acquisition, operation and maintenance of the projects, pump houses, distributaries, canals, flood water management and other components of irrigation projects. According to sources, irrigation officials have studied the existing comprehensive laws of Maharashtra and Kerala, among other States, and included the best practices in the proposed law to be enacted in Telangana.

Special attention has also been given to prevent the encroachment of land under canals, projects and ponds, a senior official said, adding that the proposed Act would also have sections of the IPC to deal with the encroachment of irrigation assets and damage to the structures.

Irrigation land was being encroached upon by locals for cultivation whenever water receded and the government never used to take action against the encroachers. But under the new Act, there would be a provision to take stringent action against them, he said.

There are about 11 lakh acres belonging to the department at different irrigation projects across the State. Once the new Act comes into force, it would become much easier for irrigation officials to maintain them.