The PRLIS comprises pumping stations, tunnels and storage reservoirs for drinking and industrial use and for irrigation purposes.
Published Jan 05, 2024 | 8:40 AM ⚊ Updated Jan 05, 2024 | 8:40 AM
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy with Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in New Delhi on Thursday, 4 January. (Supplied)
The Telangana government on Thursday, 4 January, requested Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat to expedite clearances for the Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) to make it eligible for consideration of national-project status.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy called the Union minister in Delhi and brought to his notice the need for clearances from the Central Water Commission (CWC) and Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) so that they could seek national-project status for the PRLIS in proper format.
After hearing them out, the Union minister said that there was no provision at present to accord national-project status to any project, but promised to help the state government under a different scheme.
The project was planned to be executed in a phased manner. In the first phase, drinking water was proposed to be supplied to 1,226 villages in six districts and Hyderabad.
In the second phase, a canal network was proposed to be developed from balancing reservoirs proposed to be built at specific places on the project’s course. This canal network is proposed to provide water to 12.3 lakh acres and for industrial use.
The PRLIS comprises pumping stations, tunnels and storage reservoirs for drinking and industrial use, as well as for irrigation purposes.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the CWC was scrutinising pleas for hydrology, irrigation planning, cost estimates, and inter-state aspects for the clearances.
He said that the PRLIS already had clearances from various directorates of the CWC. They were Forest Clearance: Stage I and Stage II accorded on 3 April, 2018 and 25 January, 2019; Wildlife Clearance (3 September, 2021), Environmental Clearance (24 July, 2023); Central Electricity Authority (17 March, 2023); Central Soil and Materials Research Station (17 September, 2023); and Central Ground Water Board (28 September, 2023).
Uttam Kumar drew the Union minister’s attention to the fact that the Telangana chief minister had already submitted a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 26 December seeking national project status for PRLIS.
He then sought steps for the issuing of early clearances that were essential for requesting national project status.
He said the PRLIS was intended to create an irrigation potential of 12.3 lakh acres in the drought-prone and fluoride-affected upland areas of the Nagarkurnool, Mahabubnagar, Vikarabad, Narayanpet, Rangareddy and Nalgonda districts, which were well within the Krishna basin, by lifting 90 tmcft of water in 60 days from the foreshore of Srisailam Reservoir on Krishna River.
Hon'ble Chief Minister Sri @Revanth_Anumula along with Irrigation Minister Sri @UttamINC met Hon'ble Jal Shakthi Minister Sri @GSSJodhpur ji in New Delhi today. pic.twitter.com/tJhTXyRr7V
— Telangana CMO (@TelanganaCMO) January 4, 2024
Uttam Kumar Reddy brought to the notice of Shekhawat that the Telangana government had accorded administrative approval for ₹35,200 crore.
He referred to the Union government’s gazette notification issued on 15 July, 2021, on the jurisdiction of the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) and listed certain projects, treating them as unapproved and stipulated to obtain clearances within six months. He said that the PRLIS is one of the unapproved projects.
Consequent to the gazette notification, the Telangana government submitted the detailed project report (DPR) of PRLIS to the CWC for appraisal on 13 September, 2022.
He said that the project was originally based on flood waters. Later, the government allocated 90 tmcft of water at 75 percent dependability to the project from the allocations of Telangana in the Krishna river basin.
The allocation was made possible considering the facility given under Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT)-I treated the entire allocation as one bloc for the benefit of the state by utilising 45 tmcft from under-utilisation in minor irrigation and another 45 tmcft in lieu of Godavari Water Diversion from Polavaram project to Prakasam barrage on Krisha river as per the interstate agreement, signed on 4 August, 1978.
He said that the DPR, submitted with a cost estimate of RS. 55,086 crore to the CWC on 13 September, 2022, was under scrutiny in various directorates. The proposal was submitted for environmental clearance to the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
