Telangana: Sitamma Sagar, SRLIP secure TAC approval

The integrated project seeks to utilise 67.05 TMC water from Godavari for irrigation, impacting an ayacut of 7,87,000 acres

Hyderabad: The detailed project report (DPR) for the integrated Sitamma Sagar and SRLIP project on Thursday secured clearance of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of the Central Water Commission. The 158th Technical Advisory Committee meeting, chaired by Secretary of the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) Debashree Mukherjee and CWC chairman Mukesh Kumar Sinha, which had a thorough review of the integrated project, recommended its consideration.

Works on the projects were grounded in 2017 during the BRS regime. The project seeks to utilise 67.05 TMC water from Godavari for irrigation, impacting an ayacut of 7,87,000 acres, and drinking water supply via 11 pump houses with a combined capacity of 757 MW. It will benefit districts such as Bhadradri Kothagudem, Khammam and Mahabubabad. The project will be stabilizing ayacut areas under Nagarjuna Sagar Project Left Canal, the reservoirs of Wyra, Paleru, and other minor irrigation schemes in Krishna basin.

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The barrage, measuring 1332.75 metres in length, features 67 radial gates with flood discharge capabilities. With a Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 63 metres, it will have a storage capacity of 36.57 TMC. The project is set to generate 282.80 MW of hydropower. The total approved cost was put at Rs 19,955 crore as of June 2023. An amount of Rs.927 crore was dedicated to the hydropower component.

The Benefit-Cost (BC) ratio was put at 1.57, and physical progress had reached 57 percent as of January 2025, reflecting an expenditure of Rs 11,320 crore. The project is slated for completion by Rabi 2026. Representatives from Telangana, including Rahul Bojja, Principal Secretary; G Anil Kumar, Engineer-in-Chief (General); Srinivas Reddy, Superintending Engineer, Kothagudem, S Subramayam Prasad, Deputy Director (General Branch) and S Vijaykumar, SE (interstate wing) attended the meeting.