Telangana seeks Prime Minister's help to speed up stuck irrigation clearances

Telangana Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy says the Union Environment Ministry is taking many months to process project applications. He made this point even though the Supreme Court has made it clear that authorities can accept applications and carry out environmental studies for irrigation works.

Project Status

A Telangana team led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday in New Delhi to ask for his help in speeding up these approvals. The State government wants the Centre to clear projects like Palamuru-Rangareddy, Sitaramsagar, and Dindi much faster. Past and present governments have already spent around 50,000 crore rupees on these schemes. Legal stays from the Supreme Court and other rules have slowed them down for years.

Inter-State Talks

Telangana has finished building the Sammakka-Saralamma barrage and got hydrological clearance for it. But the State needs a no-objection certificate from Chhattisgarh to use the barrage to its full potential. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy plan to visit Chhattisgarh on November 17 to meet that State's Chief Minister. Telangana has a submergence report from IIT Kharagpur and is ready to pay compensation for land submergence. Mr. Reddy also planned to meet the Central Water Commission Chairman on November 16 to ask for the Sammakka-Saralamma detailed project report to be checked using older rules that were in place when the report was first submitted.

Barrage Safety

Experts have said that lifting water from the damaged Medigadda barrage is not possible right now. Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla barrages share similar foundation designs, and experts found faults in how their foundations were planned and built. Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy also claimed that the earlier State government shifted the Pranahita-Chevella project from Tummidihatti to Medigadda after spending about 11,000 crore rupees and finishing nearly thirty percent of the work.

Context

Large irrigation projects in India often involve complex clearances from multiple central bodies and neighboring states, making inter-state cooperation vital for completion. Water infrastructure projects also face strict safety reviews following structural issues to prevent major accidents.