Hyderabad: The Telangana government decided to fast-track the Devadula Lift Irrigation Scheme and complete the long-pending project within one year, Irrigation Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said on Tuesday.
Uttam said the government would prioritise the project and remove obstacles that had delayed its completion for nearly two decades. He announced the timeline after an extensive review of the irrigation scheme.
The meeting was held on the directions of Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, who sought special attention for Devadula. According to Uttam, the Chief Minister wanted officials to address every impediment affecting the project on priority.
The minister described Devadula as a historic irrigation project conceived to lift Godavari water for a large part of Telangana.
Devadula Lift Irrigation Scheme targets six lakh acres
Uttam said the project had remained incomplete despite being taken up nearly two decades ago. “It is unfortunate that a project of such importance, which was taken up nearly two decades ago, has remained incomplete because of neglect by successive governments,” he said.
“Our government is determined to complete it on priority,” the minister added. The Devadula Lift Irrigation Scheme was designed to lift about 38 TMC of Godavari water, according to Uttam.
He said the project was also designed to provide irrigation to nearly six lakh acres. Its benefits extended across several districts, covering a large geographical area of Telangana.
Uttam listed Hanumakonda, Warangal, Karimnagar, Jangaon, Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri and Suryapet among the beneficiary districts. He also named Siddipet, Medchal-Malkajgiri, Mulugu and Jayashankar Bhupalpally.
The government therefore wanted to accelerate pending works and bring the project into full operation within the announced timeline.
Land acquisition and R&R bottlenecks reviewed
Uttam said officials examined the project component by component during the review. They identified bottlenecks that had delayed individual works and discussed specific measures required to overcome them.
Land acquisition emerged as one of the major issues examined during the meeting. Officials also reviewed rehabilitation and resettlement requirements and forest-related hurdles affecting the project.
The minister said the government would immediately release required funds wherever land acquisition and award procedures had been completed. He assured that financial requirements would not hold back works after the necessary procedures were finished.
The review therefore focused on removing administrative, land-related and financial obstacles simultaneously. Uttam said Revanth Reddy had assured a special package of Rs 6,000 crore for irrigation projects under construction across Telangana.
Of this amount, around Rs 2,500 crore had already been released, he said. The minister said Devadula had recently received funds for land acquisition. Furthermore, he assured that the government would meet the remaining financial requirements as officials completed the necessary procedures.
Uttam also referred to a video conference conducted earlier in the day with district collectors and Chief Engineers. During the conference, officials discussed land acquisition, rehabilitation and resettlement and other issues affecting irrigation projects.
The Irrigation and Revenue departments were directed to work closely with district collectors and engineers. Uttam said coordination between the departments was necessary to prevent administrative bottlenecks from delaying project works.
The government wanted land acquisition and R&R procedures to move alongside construction instead of holding up progress. The minister said the Devadula Lift Irrigation Scheme would receive priority as the government worked towards completing it within the next year.