Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Wednesday urged the Centre to grant environmental clearances for four major Telangana irrigation projects, citing the recent Supreme Court judgment on irrigation project approvals.
During his visit to New Delhi, the Chief Minister, accompanied by Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, met Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav. During the meeting, he sought immediate approvals for the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme, Gouravelli, Sitarama Sagar and Dindi projects.
Revanth Reddy said the Supreme Court’s recent ruling had created an opportunity to process pending environmental clearances. Accordingly, he urged the Union Minister to expedite approvals for the projects.
Telangana irrigation projects await clearances
The Chief Minister informed the Union Minister that the State had already spent ₹36,437 crore on the Palamuru-Rangareddy project. Similarly, it had spent ₹3,187 crore on the Dindi Lift Irrigation Scheme, ₹1,835 crore on the Sitarama Sagar project and ₹1,350 crore on the Gouravelli project.
He said work on the projects had stalled because of pending environmental clearances. As a result, project costs were increasing. He urged the Centre to issue the approvals without further delay in view of the Supreme Court verdict.
MPs Anil Kumar Yadav, Vamshi Krishna, V. Narender Reddy, Mallu Ravi, Ramasahayam Raghuram Reddy, Porika Balaram Naik and Dr Kadiyam Kavya attended the meeting. Telangana Government Special Representative in Delhi A.P. Jitender Reddy, Irrigation Adviser Adityanath Das and senior officials also participated.