Hyderabad: Telangana Jagruti chief and MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha said the PRLIS delay directly influenced the south Telangana election outcome.
While participating in the Jagruti Janam Bata programme in Nagarkurnool district, Kavitha said leaders completed the Kaleshwaram project at great speed. She added that similar urgency in the Palamuru–Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme would have altered poll results. During the visit, she inspected the Vattem reservoir and pump house.
Speaking on Krishna river waters, Kavitha said injustice continued in the undivided Mahabubnagar district even after Telangana formation. She said the Krishna river flowed nearly 300 km across the region. However, she alleged that authorities failed to utilise even 299 TMC out of the 550 TMC water share due to Telangana.
PRLIS delay exposes irrigation gaps
Kavitha said officials failed to construct canals and supporting irrigation systems linked to the Vattem reservoir. She acknowledged claims by BRS leaders that irrigation reached over six lakh acres in the undivided district. However, she stressed that Mahabubnagar district alone had nearly 25 lakh acres of cultivable land.
She questioned whether supplying water to just 6.5 lakh acres through Kaleshwaram after 11 years of statehood qualified as a major achievement. Kavitha criticised the BRS government for not prioritising the Palamuru region in south Telangana.
Kavitha said the Palamuru–Rangareddy project began in 2015 with an estimated cost of Rs 35,200 crore to irrigate 12.3 lakh acres. She said the project cost later rose to Rs 58,000 crore. Although the first phase began in 2023, she alleged that full-scale works did not progress.
She said the Congress government promised to complete the project by December 2027. However, she alleged that work on the ground continued at a slow pace, worrying farmers in south Telangana.