Panel of experts proposed to find a way forward
HYDERABAD: The Irrigation department has proposed the formation of an expert committee, headed by former Central Water Commission (CWC) chairman and dam safety expert AB Pandya, to chart a way forward as recommended by the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) in its final report concerning the Medigadda, Annaram and Sundilla barrages of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme.
Irrigation Engineer-in-Chief G Anil Kumar on Tuesday sent the proposal to the Irrigation Secretary.
The proposal recommended Pandya as the chairman of the committee, with the engineer-in-chief (General), engineer-in-chief (O&M), SDSO, chief engineer of CDO, CWPRS Director Prabhas Chandra, retired CE of DSRP (mechanical expert) K Satyanarayana, NIT-Warangal professor N Ramana Murthy, a geotechnical/geologist/geo-rock mechanics expert, and IIT-Hyderabad professor R Satish, a hydrology expert, as members, while the Chief Engineer (I), Ramagundam, will be the member-convener. The panel will also have two subject experts on board, on an invitation basis.
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Time of India
11 hours ago
- Time of India
Telangana cabinet to finalise reply to Ghose panel on KLIS and other key issues
HYDERABAD: The state cabinet meeting scheduled for Monday will deliberate on the information to be provided to the PC Ghose Commission, which has requested details of cabinet approvals by the previous govt for the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (KLIS). The commission, currently investigating the sinking of piers at Medigadda and the damage to the Annaram and Sundilla barrages under KLIS, has cross-examined former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and former ministers T Harish Rao and Eatala Rajender. Following their depositions, the commission is understood to have written to the govt seeking further details. KCR , Harish Rao, and Eatala reportedly informed the commission that the project was undertaken with cabinet approval. However, Agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao, who served during the first term of the previous BRS govt, claimed that many decisions were made solely by KCR. "The chief minister's office has responded to the Ghose Commission stating that the requested information will be submitted by June 30. The matter will be discussed at the cabinet meeting on June 23," sources in the CMO said. Chief minister A Revanth Reddy has already stated that the cabinet will also consider the advantages and disadvantages of initiating discussions with Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu to find an amicable resolution to the inter-state river water sharing issue, including the contentious Banakacharla project, between the two Telugu-speaking states. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo "The chief minister and ministers are also expected to discuss the panchayat elections, the law department's report regarding the submission of material to the court on fixing reservations in local bodies, implementation of the Rythu Bharosa scheme, the Indiramma housing scheme, and other key issues," sources added.
The Print
a day ago
- The Print
Naidu's Rs 82,000-cr Banakacherla project to link 3 river basins faces opposition from protégé Revanth
The Telangana CM has also requested Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Paatil to reject the pre-feasibility report submitted to the Central Water Commission by the Naidu administration to stop the project. Paatil may soon call meetings of the apex council, headed by him and including the chief ministers of the two states. The Telugu sibling states are now feuding over Godavari flood water. The Chandrababu Naidu government has proposed an ambitious Godavari-Banakacherla link project, but Revanth Reddy has said it is 'against natural justice, interests, and water rights of people of Telangana'. Hyderabad: Five years ago, it was Pothireddypadu, and now, Banakacherla. Despite friendly political and personal relations between then-chief ministers Jagan Mohan Reddy and K. Chandrasekhar Rao, and later their respective successors Chandrababu Naidu and Revanth Reddy, river water sharing continues to be the bone of contention between the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments, 11 years post the bifurcation. Five years ago, then-minister of Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat convened apex council meetings to resolve the issue of the Pothireddypadu capacity expansion by the Jagan government. The Jagan administration, in a May 2020 order, allocated Rs 6,829 crore for the Rayalaseema Lift Scheme and the supporting canal system. The expansion project aimed to draw three TMC (thousand million cubic feet) per day from the Pothireddypadu Head Regulator on the Srisailam reservoir. The then-KCR government had objected to the move, leading to the apex council meetings. According to the 2014 AP Reorganisation Act, Telangana side says, any new project must first be discussed and approved by the Godavari River Management Board and the Central Water Commission. Also Read: My phones were tapped: AP Congress chief Y.S. Sharmila accuses brother Jagan of colluding with BRS What is the Banakacherla link Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu envisaged the ambitious project linking the Godavari-Krishna-Penna basins during his previous term. Resuming power after five years, Chandrababu Naidu, the leader of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), the principal National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally, reinitiated the project's planning last year and wrote to the Union finance ministry for financial support. The Andhra government, which now plans to partly use the nearly 3,000 TMC of Godavari flood water running into the Bay of Bengal on average every year, proposed the river link from the Polavaram dam in north central Andhra to Banakacherla in the parched Rayalaseema region. The project is important politically too for Naidu, as it could enhance the TDP's image in Rayalaseema, especially Kurnool and Kadapa regions which are a stronghold of YSRCP despite the losses it suffered there in 2024 elections. The project, which includes building a 416 km network of open canals, pipelines and lifts to draw 200 TMC of flood water at two TMC per day during the Godavari flood season, is estimated to cost at least Rs 82,000 crore. A detailed project report (DPR) is in the works for submission to the Centre for approval. According to Andhra, the Godavari is flooded at Polavaram and downstream for 100 days minimum, every year, based on the figures of the last 50 years. The project is envisaged in three segments. First, to draw the Godavari flood water to the Prakasam Barrage on River Krishna at Vijayawada. The second stage involves pumping the water up with six lifts to the proposed Bollapalli reservoir in the Palnadu district. Senior Andhra Pradesh irrigation department officials told ThePrint that Bollapalli, located amid hills, serves as a natural reservoir for 173 TMC gross water storage when the necessary structures are built there. The final segment involves transferring the water from Bollapalli to Banakacherla, with three lift stations pumping up the water into two tunnels passing through the thick forested Nallamala Tiger Reserve. A concept note that ThePrint has accessed shows power consumption figures for lifting the water against gravity in the last two segments are 2,379 MW and 1,413 MW respectively. Existing already at Banakacherla is a three-way cross regulator complex, feeding the backwater of Krishna river drawn through the Pothireddypadu head regulator at the Srisailam reservoir into the Telugu Ganga canal (supplying drinking water to Chennai), the Srisailam Right Bank Canal, and the Kurnool-Cuddapah Canal. 'The 200 TMC Godavari flood water, would not only stabilise these systems already in place but also will allow us to bring 7.5 lakh acre under irrigation in the drought-prone Rayalaseema region, while also ensuring drinking water to lakhs of people,' said one Andhra Pradesh water resource department official. What are Telangana's objections Congress's Revanth Reddy is facing political heat over the Banakacherla project, with the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) led by former irrigation minister Harish Rao targeting the CM as 'a silent spectator to Andhra water loot'. Harish Rao has expressed apprehensions over the possible project expansion claiming that Andhra plans to 'double the Banakacherla link capacity to 400 TMC' in the future. While accusing Naidu of opposing Telangana projects such as Kaleshwaram, Bhakta Ramadasu, and Palamuru-RangaReddy, Harish Rao alleged that Revanth Reddy was compromising the state's interests to protect his friendship with Naidu and as Guru Dakshina to Naidu. Before joining the Congress, Revanth Reddy was a TDP MLA. Under fire, the Revanth Reddy-led government convened a meeting of MPs from all parties Wednesday in Hyderabad to gather their support. The next day, CM rushed to New Delhi to fight against the Andhra Pradesh government project. Telangana has contended that Andhra Pradesh is unilaterally taking up the project, contravening the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal-1980 (GWDT) and the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. On Thursday, Revanth , accompanied by irrigation minister Uttam Kumar Reddy, submitted to C.R. Paatil that 'there is no mention of flood water or surplus water as per the GWDT'. 'Yet, Andhra Pradesh violated all these requirements to proceed with efforts to construct the project,' he complained to Paatil, according to a statement from the Telangana CMO. While expressing his willingness to discuss and resolve issues amicably with Andhra Pradesh, Revanth has said that if his government did not find the Centre's response favourable, it would approach the Supreme Court. Earlier this year, in January, Uttam Kumar Reddy wrote to Paatil, expressing concerns over Naidu's letters to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, seeking financial assistance for the Godavari-Banakacherla Link scheme, with the same letters then forwarded 'to Secretary, Jal Shakti, for necessary action. The Jal Shakti ministry, in turn, 'forwarded the letters to GRMB (Godavari River Management Board), the KRMB (Krishna River Management Board), and PPA (Polavaram Project Authority) seeking their inputs', Uttam said. Last week, Uttam in another letter to Paatil, expressed the concern that the pre feasibility report of Andhra 'is deemed to have been approved.' Speaking to reporters in Delhi Thursday, Uttam Kumar Reddy said the Jal Shakti minister responded positively to their concerns and assured them that he would convene an apex council meeting soon. What are Andhra Pradesh's responses Andhra Pradesh Water Resources Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu has stated that all necessary approvals, including from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India (MoEFCC), will be taken for the Banakacherla link. Andhra Pradesh is arguing that since it is the tail-end state among the Godavari flow states, 'it bears the maximum brunt of the mighty river's floods every year and bearing vast losses, it is only natural justice to use such flood waters for good use'. 'We only want to use the waters that otherwise drain into the sea, turning saline, of no worth to anyone. What is wrong in taking Godavari flood water to the Rayalaseema, one of the least rainfed areas in the country,' Nimmala has said. The minister shared the example of the 2015 drought, when 'Godavari waters brought to Prakasam Barrage had to be transported in rail tankers for drinking water use in Anantapuramu (in Rayalaseema)'. The TDP minister apparently retorted to the accusations by the BRS against Andhra Pradesh and Naidu, saying that KCR had initiated irrigation projects Kaleshwaram, Sitarama Sagar, and Palamuru-Rangareddy, among others, without any approvals from the Centre. On Thursday, as matters precipitated, with the BRS continuing its tirade and the Telangana CM taking the issue to Delhi, CM Chandrababu Naidu responded: 'Why quarrel over water that flows into the sea if unused?' 'If legal clarity is required, we can discuss it with the Centre. Creating conflict over such usage is unreasonable. No one benefits from water disputes between us two states—it only misleads the public,' he said in a press conference at Naidu has said that the two states can avoid conflicts. Instead, he suggested amicably building projects according to their requirements and capacities and rationally using the precious water. Meanwhile, Revanth Reddy, speaking to reporters after the Wednesday all-party meeting at the Telangana Secretariat, blamed his predecessor 'for paving the way for Banakacherla way back in 2016'. The Telangana CM has disclosed the minutes of the apex council meeting held in New Delhi in September 2016. KCR, Harish Rao, Chandrababu Naidu, and then-irrigation minister of Andhra Devineni Umamaheshwara Rao attended the meeting, chaired by the then-minister of Jal Shakti Uma Bharti. 'The council meet, with KCR's participation, clearly stated the need for 1,000 TMC water to complete the ongoing and proposed projects on Krishna River, while noting that 3,000 TMC Godavari water was going unused, on the other hand,' pointed out the chief minister, in response to Harish Rao's attacks on him. A senior official in Telangana said the opposition to Banakacherla is 'mostly political' but not unfounded. 'Yes, the project proposes to use flood waters, but what is the guarantee that Andhra will not draw regular water in the non-flood years?' (Edited by Madhurita Goswami) Also Read: 'Freeze seats or increase proportionately': Andhra CM Naidu limits Modi govt's delimitation options
New Indian Express
a day ago
- New Indian Express
Kaleshwaram probe: Engineer-in-Chief who ‘favoured' tainted Executive Engineer shunted
HYDERABAD: The Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme, often in the spotlight for the wrong reasons, appears to have claimed another senior official. The state government on Friday transferred Irrigation Engineer-in-Chief (General) G Anil Kumar, directing him to report to the government. Orders to this effect were issued by Irrigation Principal Secretary Rahul Bojja. Chief Engineer (Inquiries) Mohd Amjad Hussain has been given full additional charge of the post of Engineer-in-Chief (General). The order did not mention the reason for Anil Kumar's transfer. However, sources in the department said he had allegedly favoured Irrigation Executive Engineer Nune Sridhar, who was recently arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in connection with a disproportionate assets case.
