Govt set right injustice in allocation: Uttam
PNS|MIRYALGUDA
The Congress Government had taken historic steps to correct decades of injustice in Krishna River water allocation and had fast-tracked vital irrigation projects across the state, especially in South Telangana, Irrigation & Civil Supplies Minister Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said.
Addressing a detailed review meeting in Miryalguda on Sunday, he said that due to the persistent efforts by the Congress Government, the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal-II headed by Justice Brijesh Kumar, had reopened the issue of the allocation of 811 TMCs of water between basin states.
He termed this as a significant achievement compared to the silence of the BRS Government, which allowed Andhra Pradesh to increase the capacity of the Pothireddypadu Head Regulator and launch the Rayalaseema Lift Scheme without any protest.
He accused the KCR government of grossly ignoring the irrigation needs of Southern Telangana by focusing solely on the Kaleshwaram Project, which ultimately failed due to poor design and massive corruption.
He pointed out that while ?94,000 crore was spent on Kaleshwaram, the same amount could have completed major projects like Devadula, SLBC, Dindi, Palamuru-Rangareddy, Sitarama Sagar, Uday Samudram, and other schemes that remained pending for years.
Uttam said the Congress Government had allocated ?23,000 crore for irrigation in the 2024–25 budget and has taken steps to strengthen the department by hiring 1,100 engineers and 1,800 Laskars on an outsourcing basis.
He said the repair and desilting of old reservoirs like the Nagarjuna Sagar and SRSP had begun after decades of neglect. He said that sedimentation had reduced the capacity of major reservoirs by 25 to 30 per cent and that it was the Congress Government that took up de-sedimentation.
