The Water Resources Department completed the Phase-1 expansion at a brisk pace, enabling the transport of an additional 17.10 TMC of water during the four-month flood season, at a rate of approximately 4.27 TMCFT per month.
Published Jul 17, 2025 | 7:28 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 17, 2025 | 7:28 PM
With an investment of ₹696 crore, the Handri-Neeva Phase-1 canal network’s capacity has increased to 3,850 cusecs, enabling an additional 1,600 cusecs of water to be transported. (NCBN/X)
Synopsis: The chief minister, intent on pinning down the YSRCP after steamrolling it in the last election, is understood to be giving top priority to addressing Rayalaseema’s immediate need—irrigation facility to vast stretches of land where famine is a regular visitor.
In a renewed push to drought-proof the Rayalaseema region, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday, 17 July, commissioned the Handri-Neeva Phase-1 canal augmentation work.
Naidu released water into the expanded Handri-Neeva canal at the Malyala Pumping Station at Nandikotkur Mandal in the Nandyal district.
The TDP-led NDA government achieved its ambitious target of completing the canal expansion within 100 days, as promised.
With an investment of ₹696 crore, the Handri-Neeva Phase-1 canal network’s capacity has increased to 3,850 cusecs, enabling an additional 1,600 cusecs of water to be transported.
This upgrade facilitates the filling of the Jeedipalli Reservoir to its full capacity, ensuring irrigation facilities for Kurnool, Anantapur, and Chittoor districts, and drinking water for 3.3 million people.
The state government has laid special emphasis on addressing Rayalaseema’s drinking and irrigation water needs as it is a perennially drought-prone area.
In the last election, the TDP-led NDA won 49 of the 52 seats, which is the reversal of the YSRCP’s tally in the 2019 elections.
The chief minister, intent on pinning down the YSRCP after steamrolling it in the last election, is understood to be giving top priority to addressing Rayalaseema’s immediate need—irrigation facility to vast stretches of land where famine is a regular visitor.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu offering Jala Harati at the Malyala pumping house on Thursday, 17 July. (NCBN/X)
Naidu set daily targets and meticulous planning for the completion of the Handri-Neeva Phase I augmentation works.
The 216-km canal expansion from Malyala to Jeedipalli is expected to fill local reservoirs like Jeedipalli, Krishnagiri, Pathikonda, and Gajuldinne, significantly boosting groundwater levels across Rayalaseema.
Previously, the Handri-Neeva Phase-1 canal had a capacity of only 2,200 cusecs, limiting its ability to utilize the allocated 40 TMCFT of floodwater to just one or two instances during flood seasons. With the canal’s capacity now at 3,850 cusecs, the region can fully utilize its 40 TMCFT allocation this year.
The Water Resources Department completed the Phase-1 expansion at a brisk pace, enabling the transport of an additional 17.10 TMC of water during the four-month flood season, at a rate of approximately 4.27 TMCFT per month.
The Handri-Neeva Sujala Sravanthi (HNSS) project, with a total investment of ₹3,890 crore, will address the drinking and irrigation water challenges of Kurnool, Anantapur, Chittoor, and Kadapa districts.
Phase-I will irrigate 2,906 acres in Nandyal, 77,094 acres in Kurnool, and 1,18,000 acres in Anantapur. Phase-II will extend irrigation to an additional 227,000 acres in Anantapur, 37,500 acres in Kadapa, and 140,000 acres in Chittoor. Collectively, Phases I and II will provide irrigation for over 6,00,000 acres and drinking water for 3.3 million people.
Between 2014 and 2019, the TDP government allocated ₹4,317 crore and completed 47% of the Handri-Neeva canal expansion. However, from 2019 to 2024, the previous administration neglected the project entirely. The coalition government, upon assuming power, resumed the augmentation works of the Phase-I canal, completing the expansion in just 100 days since April 2025.
The government is planning to ensure that water reaches the tail-end ayacut in Punganur and Kuppam. “By the end of July, water will flow to the Kuppam and Punganur branch canals, fulfilling the region’s long-standing water needs,” Naidu said.
After offering Jala Harati at the Malyala pumping house, the chief minister said: “When Kia Motors requested water to establish their unit in Anantapur district, we completed the Gollapalli Reservoir near Penugonda in eight months, paving the way for the industry’s establishment. We are now providing irrigation water for over 600,000 acres and drinking water for 3.3 million people, fulfilling the long-cherished dream of Rayalaseema’s people.”
He further said: “The water starting at Srisailam Mallanna can now reach Tirumala Venkanna. With such plans, we aim to connect divine blessings with water prosperity,” Naidu added.
Recalling the talks with his Telangana counterpart A Revanth Reddy at a meeting convened by Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil in Delhi on Wednesday, 16 July, he said: “Challenges and politics go together, but we will overcome them to solve the problems faced by people. I am not deterred by criticism or imponderables while pursuing an objective. Even Claymore mines couldn’t stop me. The present criticism directed at me is nothing.”
Naidu mentioned the Claymore mines to recall an assassination bid on him in October 2003. A series of nine Claymore mines were planted by People’s War on the ghat road leading to the Tirumala hills from Tirupati. Though Naidu’s bullet-proof car was tossed up into the air, he escaped with injuries.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
