PNS|Hyderabad
Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Saturday revealed that only 162.368 TMC of water was pumped out from the Kaleshwaram Project’s Medigadda pump house in the last five years, raising serious questions over the project’s utility and the claims made by the BRS government.
Despite energy expenditure, the actual irrigation achieved falls far short of expectations, he said.
In a press statement, Uttam said the project consumed 569.223 million units of electricity, yet only a fraction of the water lifted reached the fields.
Of the 162 TMC lifted between 2019 and 2024, 63 TMC was let downstream, 20 TMC was lost in transmission, and just 27 TMC was utilised, 15 TMC in Kondapochamma, 10 TMC in Mallanna Sagar, and 2 TMC in Ranganayaka Sagar.
“Effectively, Telangana got only 10.6 TMC a year for irrigation, covering a mere 1.06 lakh acres. This is far from the promised 18 lakh acres,” Uttam said, calling the figures “a stunning mismatch between political narrative and ground reality.”
He cited official data showing that in 2023, against a target of 215 TMC, only 25.64 TMC could be lifted. He blamed the collapse of the Medigadda pump house in 2022 and a design failure that rendered the structure inoperative.
Uttam added that only 62 pump sets out of the required 162 were ever made operational. He accused the BRS regime of pushing optics over functionality, investing in flashy structures but neglecting field canals.
“Without last-mile distribution systems, pumping water is meaningless. Farmers were misled,” he said.
He also promised that the Congress Government would publish a white paper on irrigation since 2016 and would allocate Rs 1,000 crore for urgent rectification.
