The government is also contesting the unfair Krishna River water allocation of 299 TMC to Telangana and 512 TMC to Andhra Pradesh

Metro India News | Hyderabad 

Addressing a review meeting at Jala Soudha on irrigation projects in the Nalgonda Parliamentary constituency on Tuesday, Irrigation & Civil Supplies Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy exhorted officials for ayacut expansion.

He said that the previous administration spent Rs 1.81 lakh crore on irrigation projects without achieving significant ayacut expansion.

High-cost short-term loans were taken, leaving a massive financial burden on the state. He pointed out that half of the annual irrigation budget - Rs 11,000 crore out of Rs 22,000 crore - is used for loan repayments.

He revealed that 700 Assistant Executive Engineers (AEEs), including graduates from premier institutions like IITs and IIITs, were recruited to address these gaps. Additionally, 1,800 Laskar staff were hired through outsourcing, and the Telangana State Public Service Commission was directed to fill more vacancies.

He also said that inefficiency would not be tolerated and based on the complaints from CE Nalgonda and local MLA, Executive Engineer Lakshman was suspended.

Despite spending Rs 27,000 crore on the Palamuru Rangareddy Project and Rs 9,000 crore on the Sitarama Lift Irrigation Project, not a single acre received irrigation water.

Similarly, long pending projects like Devadula, Kalwakurthy, Nettampadu, Bhima, Koyal Sagar, SLBC, and Dindi remained incomplete. Kaleshwaram Project, despite consuming nearly Rs 1 lakh crore, delivered minimal ayacut and faced structural issues like the collapse of barrages.

The process of allocating 67 TMC of Godavari River water for Sitharama Lift Irrigation Project has been hastened up. Further, efforts are underway to secure 44 TMC for the Sammaka Sarakka project, informed the minister.

Minister Komatireddy Venkatreddy described the SLBC (Srisailam Left Bank Canal) project as transformative, capable of irrigating 4 lakh acres. He termed it a "world wonder" due to its scale, with its 44-km tunnel designed to transfer 30 TMC of water annually.

Of this, 9.559 km of tunnel boring remains. The executing agency, JP Associates, along with its US-based partners, has expedited the process by importing critical components.