Hyderabad: Irrigation minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Friday sought to counter the BRS’s claims that the Palamuru-Ranga Reddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) was 90 per cent complete and that irrigation had been significantly expanded using Krishna waters. He said nearly 39,000 acres of land acquisition for the project remained pending, contradicting such claims.Making a PowerPoint presentation in the Telangana Assembly, the minister said that during the decade-long BRS rule, only 24.8 per cent of funds were spent on projects linked to the Krishna River, while 75.2 per cent were spent on Godavari projects. He also said Jurala waters were never used, resulting in a loss to Telangana.Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged that the previous BRS regime had deliberately altered the off-take points of major irrigation projects, causing what he described as a “catastrophic effect” on the state. He said projects originally designed to draw water upstream of the Jurala project were shifted to the Srisailam reservoir. Similarly, the Pranahita-Chevella project, initially planned to tap Godavari waters at Thummidihatti, was moved to Medigadda.He said the state could have derived greater benefits with lower investment had the intake remained at Jurala, as originally planned. Instead, project costs escalated from an initial estimate of ₹32,000 crore to ₹55,000 crore in the 2022 DPR submitted to the Central Water Commission, and were projected to rise further to ₹80,000-84,000 crore on completion. “Despite massive expenditure, not a single acre has received irrigation, and land acquisition for over 39,000 acres is still pending,” he said.On Krishna river water disputes, the minister blamed the BRS for compromising Telangana’s interests. He said the previous government had agreed to allocate 512 TMC ft to Andhra Pradesh, leaving Telangana with 299 TMC ft under the 2016 Apex Council decision, which was endorsed in 2020 to remain in force until the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal finalises allocations.Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged that the BRS was responsible for what he termed a “water loot” by Andhra Pradesh over the past decade, referring to the close relationship between BRS leaders and the then YSRC government. He said multiple meetings between former chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy resulted in additional concessions to the neighbouring state.He said the present government was firm on protecting Telangana’s interests and was now demanding 756 TMC ft out of the total dependable yield of the Krishna, seeking a 70 per cent share based on the river’s catchment area.
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उत्तर प्रदेश बजट सत्र लाइव अपडेट: सपा के आचरण से घबराती थीं बिटिया… यूपी विधानसभा में सीएम योगी आदित्यनाथ
उत्तर प्रदेश विधानसभा के बजट सत्र के पांचवें दिन शुक्रवार को सदन में राज्यपाल के अभिभाषण पर धन्यवाद…
