Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy says that the structure will offer a permanent solution to floods
Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy has announced that a permanent solution to the longstanding flooding issue of the Munneru River, which has affected the people of Khammam and Paleru constituencies, would be worked out within the next seven months. He mentioned that a 17-kilometre reinforced cement concrete (RCC) retaining wall is being constructed along the Munneru River at a cost of Rs 690 crores to prevent flooding in residential colonies along the river. He directed the officials to complete the construction by July 15, ahead of the coming monsoon season, under any circumstances.
On Friday, the Minister, along with Khammam Lok Sabha member R Raghuram Reddy, District Collector Muzammil Khan, Khammam Municipal Commissioner Abhishek Augustya, and Additional Collectors P Sreeja and P Srinivas Reddy, reviewed the progress of the Munneru River retaining wall construction and land acquisition at the Integrated District Collectorate.
During the review, the Minister mentioned that 234 acres of land are required for the construction of the retaining wall, of which 64 acres are government land, and 170 acres are private land. He instructed the Revenue officials to hold land acquisition discussions with landowners and speed up the process on a war- footing. He noted that frequent flooding due to Munneru River overflow is troubling the people in Khammam and Paleru constituencies, and constructing the retaining wall is the only solution to work out a permanent solution to the problem.
The Minister also inquired about the design of the retaining wall, asking if the flow of water from check dams and the potential flood risks from the urban catchment areas were considered in the design.
He instructed that progress be monitored every two days, with a clear daily plan to ensure the construction proceeds on schedule.
He also directed the formation of additional field teams to ensure the timely completion of work and requested that daily progress updates be shared via WhatsApp.
To expedite land acquisition, the Minister suggested forming a specialist committee to hold consultations with farmers and explain the benefits of the retaining wall construction to encourage landowners to offer their land for the project.
The Minister emphasized that any encroachments or irregularities, particularly at the lower levels of the revenue staff, would be dealt with strictly, and no corruption would be tolerated in the process. District Collector Muzammil Khan stated that a plan has been prepared for land acquisition.
He explained that the previous year’s flood levels did not exceed 170,000 cusecs, but in September 2024, the flow reached over 312,000 cusecs. Based on this, a design was made for a retaining wall with the capacity to withstand 350,000 cusecs of flow, with a height of 15 meters and a width of 6 meters, covering 8.5 kilometres in rural and urban areas, totalling 17 kilometres.
The review meeting was attended by Revenue Divisional Officer Narasimha Rao, Irrigation Superintending Engineer Venkateswara Rao, Roads and Buildings Superintending Engineer Hemalatha, Paleru constituency special officer Ramesh, urban and rural Tahsildars Ravi Kumar and Ramprasad, and other relevant officials.
